I recently came across the following quote by William Shakespeare: “Expectation is the root of all heartache.” Right off the cuff and without the need for any deep thinking, I said (huff),“ain’t that the truth!” But as I am a deep thinker, I got to thinking about EXPECTATIONS.
We all have them, every day, consciously or subconsciously. The more I thought about the word itself, the more I noticed it on a daily basis. The weatherman said to “expect rain” today. An obituary said the deceased had “died un-expectantly.” NASCAR “expects a large crowd” for the race this weekend. A friend is “expecting a child.” The plane is “expected to land” at 5:45 pm.” We “expect more” from people in positions of authority (pastors, police officers, doctors, etc.).My personal favorite: I “expect” my husband to come home from work at 5:15 pm every night and that he will call if he is going to be late. This is a subconscious expectation because he does this every day without fail. On one occasion recently, he was an hour late and did not call. I could not reach him on his cell phone and I, of course, “expected the worse.”
Without question, some of the greatest moments that we experience “expectations” are graduation from college, wedding day, and the birth of a child. In each instance, we anticipate so much of life ahead, yet life has a way of not turning out the way we “expect” it to! Here is where Shakespeare is right on the money! When our expectations do not come to fruition we feel disappointment but most often than not, heartache of one degree or another. Not to say that there are times when things EXCEED our expectations much to our delight!!
My wise Grandmother taught me to “never expect anything, and you will never be disappointed.” I always admired my Grandmother’s easy way of life and taking things as they came! My Mother, on the other hand, taught me to “always expect the unexpected.” She was always telling us things like “don’t throw stones or play sword with a stick…you might poke someone’s eye out” and “wear clean underwear in case you are in an accident,” and “make sure you have a dime in case you need to make a phone call” (wow, that was a long time ago)!!! While both women taught valuable life lessons, expectations are a fact of life and how we deal with the disappointment is the key. Cliches like “everything happens for a reason” and “it wasn’t meant to be” are all fine unless you are on the hurting end of disappointment. The Bible tells us to “…count it all joy…” (James 1:2)The Bible does not use the word “expect” or “expectation” very often but, rather, supposes the same emotions by the word “hope.” As I searched Strong’s Concordance I found the word “expectation” mentioned 14 times and the word “hope” used 130 times! Interestingly, when I cross referenced the scripture verse, the NKJV uses “expectation,” whereas, the NIV uses “hope” instead. Webster’s Dictionary defines “expect” as “to believe to be probable”; and “expectation” as “eager anticipation for something coming.” The word “hope” is defined as “to want or wish for with confident expectation.” The Greek word for “hope” as used in the Bible is ELPIS, meaning “to desire with expectation of obtaining it.
Clearly, “expectation” and “hope” are interchangeable words, however, as we go through our earthly lives and realize that life doesn’t always happen the way we EXPECT it to, one thing is certain and that is the hope that is in our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Bible tells it this way: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1); and “…looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ..” (Titus 2:13); and, “…hope does not disappoint…” (Romans 5:5).