What Is Your Expectation?

Psalm 62:1-8 (KJV)

Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.

3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.

4 They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.

5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Expectation : the general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled.2) belief or hope about the future; especially regarding coming events.

Here we have a psalm written by one of the musical families that David chose in 1 Chron. We see in this psalm an exhortation as it were. As we are opening this , the first Sunday of Advent, we want to pause here and set the stage for the coming season. Here we have a man writing about where his hope lies. He tells of the one in whom his soul can depend.

What is Expectation? we have defined it as a posture or position of hope, of hoping for a good or better outcome. In this Psalm, we see the writer having apparently come upon, as we all have and will, trouble and mischief from some enemy. I would propose to you today, that that enemy is our adversary the devil. In this 2nd year of COVD troubles, the enemy of our souls would seek to have us be in a posture of doom and gloom. Looking at this now endemic of Covid as something that has no end. But the writer here asks a question as I’m sure we too ask today. How long will the enemy imagine mishief against us? We have seen lately in the news that justice seems a far off for far too many. We see downturns in the economic outputs and we get discouraged. But we see the writer here reminding us in this season of hope to be reminded of where comes our salvation. He reminds us that God alone is the one to whom we should be lifting our heads and hearts to. He reminds us that it is God alone who, when the enemy comes with false faltteries accoding to vs 4, our souls are to look to God, who is our refuge and strength. We can look to God alone, because God alone is our rock and salvations. What do you mean by our rock. Int hese incertain times, we are looking for stability. All of the places we have been looking at before are starting to crumble. Our money, family, jobs, and friends are all somehow appearing to be less than the strength that we need to carry on in thses times. Ther writer encourages his soul to look to God, our defender. When you look to God alone to be your defender, your expectation of being secure won’t be shaken. When we are shaken, it is because we are counting and putting our hope and confidence in things and people that cannot satisfy the longing of our SOUL> Oh yes, they may temproarily satisfy a fleshly longing, but in the midnight hours when all is still, the SOUL longs for the salvation and peace that only GOd can bring.

1) The writer encourages his soul to look to God, our defender. When you look to God alone to be your defender, your expectation of being secure won’t be shaken. When we are shaken, it is because we are counting and putting our hope and confidence in things and people that cannot satisfy the longing of our SOUL> Oh yes, they may temproarily satisfy a fleshly longing, but in the midnight hours when all is still, the SOUL longs for the salvation and peace that only GOd can bring.

What is your expectation today? Where does it lie? The writer tells us to trust in GOD at ALL TIMES. The old folks talk about calling on God morning, noonday and inthe midnite hour. This is their simple way of reiterating what this psalm is reminding us of. The glory that we seek is in God alone. Not in the systems and structures of mans own creation. Those will always fail you. The Psalmist tells us to WAIT only on God (vs5). Why? We must wait on God becuase He’ll “show up”. We always like to think that God “shows up” when the reality is, He’s already there, He just hasn’t been revealed to us in the situation yet because our eyes and hearts are trusting in arms of flesh. Where is your expectation today? In this upcoming season of hope and joy, where are you placing your expectation? Do you place more expection in a mythical man coming down the chimney that you will in the Living God? Are your expectations laid up in the gifts under the instead of the Gift of Jesus Christ? Do you even have any expectations? Are you hopeless, helpless and have given up? THe writer here lets us know that the devices of the enemy will soon be toppled and put to nothing. We will emerge triumphant. We can trust in our triumph because it’s already won through Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.

3) The writer tells us that we can place our expectation in God to defend us. Isn’t that awesome? That means that when the enemy comes in like a flood according to Is. 59:19, God will raise up a standard against him. What is that standard. a standard is typically a banner flown to show on who’s side an army is fighting on. It can also be inferred that GOd’s physical stand represents His righteousness and his arm of justice.

Where is your expectation today? In this upcoming season of hope and joy, where are you placing your expectation? Do you place more expection in a mythical man coming down the chimney that you will in the Living God? Are your expectations laid up in the gifts under the instead of the Gift of Jesus Christ? Do you even have any expectations? Are you hopeless, helpless and have given up? THe writer here lets us know that the devices of the enemy will soon be toppled and put to nothing. We will emerge triumphant. We can trust in our triumph because it’s already won through Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.

My brothers and sister, let me encourage you this Advent season. Let me encourage you to embrace the biblical themes of Hope, Joy, Love, Peace as we await the celebration of the blessed promise of Christ’s coming. Not only can we hope, rejoice in is first coming, we can joyously anticipate His coming again!

What is your expectation?