Expectations gain entrance into our belief system and can either propel us to faith, or they can usher us into a downward spiral of fear. How many minutes of life have we wasted on things that we thought were going to happen, but never did? How many relationships have gone awry simply because we expected that someone felt a certain way, when in fact they did not? How many motives have we presumed to know, when in fact we have no power to peer into a soul and know their motive?

Expectations have the power to wreck relationships! We may fall into suppositions that people think of us in a certain way; yet, if truth were known, they weren’t even thinking of us at all. Or, in contrast, they really did care very deeply for us.

Expectations can be good, in that they can be full of faith, being the “substance of things hoped for….” Expectations can be bad in that they can stir our emotions into a tailspin while believing that something is going to happen that could be destructive.

If faith is the substance of things hoped for…then fear carries with it the substance of things dreaded. The content of what we expect must then be centered on truth. Otherwise, our expectations can run away from us ~ acting as a thief ~ and causing us unnecessary stress and fear.

“Watch over {the expectations of} your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs {issues} of life.” [Proverbs 4:23]