The End of Your Expectation
Proverbs 23:18 “For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.”
If there is one thing the enemy desires to do, it’s to keep you stuck in the bad experiences and cut off from the expectation of things getting better. Let me give you an example. Let’s say John is going through problems at his job. His boss doesn’t like him and is just anxious to terminate John at a moment’s notice. Now what should John do?
Well, I tell you what the enemy wants John to do: stay stuck in the experience. The enemy would desire for John to believe, “This situation will never end. This is the way it’s always going to be. I’ll never get out of this.” John’s dilemma is an example of a person staying stuck in the experience with no expectation of ever getting out. In situations like this, God desires for us to use HIS expectation to see ourselves out of what we are in. What do I mean by HIS expectation? Psalms 62:5 puts it like this: “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.”
You see, that peace giving, abundant living expectation that we have during the attacks of the enemy comes from one source – – – God! But if we are connected to the wrong source (the enemy), we will believe that the experience will never cease to exist. And if the enemy can get us to take ownership of an end that is not ours, then despair, depression, and defeat are soon to follow.
As our text states, “For surely there is an end.” We all know that there is an end, but is your end the expectation of God or of the devil? If you are believing that God is going to bring you out, then don’t get stuck on “in.” Don’t believe that where you are is the final place you will wind up. Don’t believe that what you are going through will kill you. Absolutely not! Because beloved of God, you don’t have the end of the depressed, the defeated, the desolate, the down and out, or the discontented. You surely have an end that is ordained and orchestrated by God Himself; it’s up to you to lay hold to it!
The closing portion of our text tells us, “and thine expectation shall not be cut off.” In other words, you’re going to get whatever you are expecting. Now, I believe you can see why the enemy tampers with your expectation so much. Instead of us expecting the best, he wants us to expect the worse and get what we are expecting. But today, I declare that we will expect what God desires us to expect! We expect family members to get saved. We expect health and long lives. We expect our churches to grow and operate in love. We expect our children to live Godly lives. We expect prosperity in our homes and communities. We expect peace in every situation. And we expect the end for our lives that God desires us to have, for God is faithful to His word that our expectation shall not be cut off.
