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Pastors George & Terri Pearsons

My wife and I are expecting!

Isn't that wonderful news? We are so excited. The big day is right around the corner. All the necessary preparations are being made.

Oh. Now, wait a minute. You thought we are expecting a baby. That's what it sounded like. Let me clear that up. Terri and I have two wonderful children. Jeremy is 22 and Aubrey is 15. As much as we love them, we have no plans for having any more.

What we are expecting, though, is the manifestation of what we have prayed for based on God's Word. We are expecting wisdom. We are expecting provision. We are expecting the fulfillment of God's perfect plan for our lives.

We are pregnant and filled with anticipation. We are carrying the seed of God's living word in the womb of our hearts. And we are "showing" more and more every day.

"Start Packing"

The very moment we found out that Terri was pregnant with Jeremy and Aubrey, we started getting ready. After all, we were expecting. There was much to be done. Brand new little people were about to enter our lives. There were rooms to decorate, cribs to buy and names to choose. Our lifestyle was about to be drastically altered. We got busy.

We didn't wait until the "day of" to make preparations. When Terri said, "it's time", I didn't look at her and say, "time for what?" No, we were counting down the days (and eventually the contractions). We had completely redecorated the entire house right before Aubrey was born!

Our first little house was more than sufficient to handle Jeremy's arrival. There was even room to spare. By the time Aubrey came along, we were living in a bigger house. Again, there was plenty of room for all.

But as our children grew older the house progressively got smaller. More space was needed and we knew it was time to move. We agreed together for a new house that would accommodate our needs. Because faith always prepares, we asked the Lord to show us what to do to "get ready." How should we feed our expectation?

After much prayer, the Lord said, "start packing." So we did. Boxes were stacked everywhere. They became our point of contact. During the first few weeks, we expected to move at any moment.

Time went by. The boxes remained stacked. They started to blend into the house. Discouragement tried to settle in. Our expectation started going in the other direction. "We're moving tomorrow" slowly became "will we ever move?" We were still expecting - only this time, in the wrong direction. We began to wonder if we would ever move to a bigger house. Fear crept in and our expectation took a nosedive.

Expectation Gone South

Fear is expectation going in the wrong direction. You are still expecting something. But your expectation is coming out of fear instead of faith.

Fear is the reciprocal of faith. Faith and fear work the same way, but they are opposites. Both are forces. One is positive. The other is negative. For instance, north is the reciprocal of south. They are points on the compass, yet they lead you in different directions. North leads you up. South leads you down. In the same way, faith leads you to success. Fear leads you to failure. Fear is your expectation gone south.

Faith expects success.

Fear expects failure.

Faith expects the best.

Fear expects the worst.

Faith expects the desired result.

Fear expects the dreaded outcome.

Job expected the worst case scenario concerning his family. "The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me. That which I was afraid of is come unto me." (Job 3:25) He expected the worst, and the worst is what he got. It was a fearful expectation.

Faith is having right expectations.

Fear is having wrong expectations.

Faith fearlessly believes that everything is going to work out perfectly, right in line with God's Word, will and purpose.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. True Bible hope is defined as "a red hot, burning, earnest expectation with outstretched neck". Faith fearlessly expects the best!

Paul's Fearless Expectation

On the surface, things appeared hopeless. The future, bleak. The Apostle Paul was locked up in prison. From a dark cell, he wrote to the Philippians. But it wasn't a "woe is me", downhearted dissertation. This was the happiest; most joy filled letter of his life. Why? He lived in a constant state of fearless expectation. His expectation, propelled by faith, was pointed in the right direction. In spite of the circumstances, he was expecting God to show Himself strong! He kept his expectations pointed upward.

"For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death". (Phil 1:19)

Did you read what he said? The direction of his expectation would turn into his salvation. To turn something around means to go in another direction. His deliverance, as always, was according to his earnest expectation and his hope. Note that it said "his" earnest expectation and "his" hope. He truly expected God to move on his behalf. His expectation was going in the right direction.

Each one of us has our very own, "inner expector" that is directed by faith or by fear. Paul's expector could have gone in the wrong direction. Based on fear, he could have said, "according to my fearful expectation, I don't think I'm going to make it. I'm going to shut down the "Apostle Paul Evangelistic Association." It doesn't look good at all. We're going down the tubes!"

No Way!! Are you kidding? This is the man that said, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" He was totally persuaded that nothing could separate him from the love of God. He kept his fearless expectation going in the right direction.

"Direct Your Expecation"

Let's get our expectation going in the right direction. Expect the best. Expect to succeed. Expect to live debt free. Line up your expectations with God's. Psalm 62:5, 6 says, "My soul, wait thou only upon God: For my expectation is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved."

Expect to win. Expect to overcome. Expect to prevail over fear. Your Word based fearless expectations will come to pass.

There was a day when we finally loaded those boxes onto a truck and moved to our new house. There were opportunities to lose hope. When our expectation was slipping southward, we would get back up on our confession. We would point it in the right direction. We would direct it with our faith-filled words.

As of this writing, we are getting ready to move once again. Our expectation this time is to purchase a home totally debt free. I expect it! I believe it! I receive it! I have it! My expectation is moving in the right direction. I have a "red hot, burning earnest expectation with outstretched neck."

Let's point our expectation in the right direction.

Say this out loud:

"I walk by faith and not by fear.
I believe God's Word.
I expect the very best.
I expect to succeed and not fail.
I expect to win and not loose.
I expect my future to work out perfectly.
I am head up and not down.
I am going over and not under.
According to my earnest expectation and hope, the situation I am in right now has turned to my salvation in Jesus mighty name!"

Don't allow fear to pull your expectation away from faith. Keep expecting the best! Find out what God wants you to do to get ready. Then do it - fearlessly. You'll see the goodness of God take place right before your eyes. I expect it! No Fear Here!

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