It's July, and half of the year is gone! Can you believe that? In so many ways, it has been a wonderful but challenging year. I believe the last half of the year will outshine the first half!
July is always a good time to review and renew your expectations. It is helpful to take another look at our goals and dreams for the year and then evaluate where we are. God hasn't forgotten what He promised you or the plans you made with Him. He wants to reinvigorate you so you can finish this year strong!
Review:
Let's do this to review. Take some time to go back to the beginning of the year. Find your journal and look at what you wrote down then. Take another look at your vision board. Remember how you felt anticipating a new year and all you wanted to do. Recapture the joy of partnering with the Holy Spirit to accomplish them. Now, refill your coffee, grab your journal, or a notepad. Find a comfortable spot and answer some of these questions.
- What was your word for the year? List the ways that word has worked in your life.
- What were your goals?
- Which ones have you completed?
- Do you need to adjust some of them to fit your life as it is now?
- Which ones have you decided to let go of and why?
- What were your dreams, hopes and expectations for the year?
- What did God promise you for this year?
- Where have you seen God move to make them come to pass?
- Which ones are you still waiting to happen this year?
- What are you doing to cooperate with God to see them happen?
Renew your Expectations.
Living by faith in the Lord is to live in the expectation that what He promised will become a reality in your life. But disappointments, circumstances, and just the busyness of daily life can overshadow your hope and faith until you no longer have the expectation that you will ever see your promises as a reality. Don't allow that to happen to you!
So how do we renew our expectations? We adjust our thinking, attitudes, and prayers with expectations added again! We use our imagination to see with the eyes of faith. We believe again, do what faith requires, and trust God's faithfulness to do what He promised. We don't give up, and we never let go!
I recently read this. "We are no longer living in the Que Sera Sera era; whatever will be, will be. That time died with Doris Day! We must determine in our hearts to move into the grand plan set before us." I had to ask myself, "Am I living a Que Sera Sera life, or am I living in faith, and the expectation of what He said will come to pass? Truthfully, there are places in my life where I have slipped into Que Sera Sera thinking. It is time for me to step up and start acting in faith once again.
What about you? It takes a lot of courage and discipline to remain hopeful, expecting God to show up after you have been waiting on His promises for so long. I know you have been disappointed at times. I know you want to give up, stop believing, and let go of those expectations because you don't want another disappointment. So you tell yourself not to get your hopes up. If it is supposed to happen, it will. I know, I've been there many, many times. Along with God, you set your grand plan at the start of the year. You started out strong, partnering with God to see that plan happen. Don't give up now! You're halfway there. God is faithful. He began this good work with you and will see it through to the end. Who knows, tomorrow might be the day that changes everything.
So this month, take some time to look at your God-given dreams, goals, and plans. Look, and look again with expectation. Then look deeper with the God of the impossible. You may be surprised at what you see!
Let me know how your year is going and where you are seeing God show up and show off in your life! Leave a comment or email me. I love hearing from you!
(Authors note: This post first appeared on the blog in July of 2019. I have rewritten the post to to bring it up to date, correct errors, and added new pictures.)
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1 comment
What a lovely, encouraging letter to believers! Thank you so much. Your words were what I needed to hear. Madison