Verbs and other Freedoms...
So much of our lives are lived under the weight of expectation and responsibility. There is no room to move, to be ourselves...simply either meeting the expectation, having our expectation met, feeling like a failure when don't meet the expectation or feeling disappointed when our expectations aren't met. We place expectations and standards on people and then cause shame and disappointment to be on them when they don't meet our expectations. There is no room for error - either you meet it, or you don't. There is no life.
With responsibility it is so similar. We place responsibility on ourselves and we are 'given responsibility' If we don't meet the job description then we have failed, or are not worthy of the responsibility.
When we flip it around to Expectancy and Response...there is an opportunity created to be ourselves. God has created us to be free and He desires to bring us life not death. He desires a response in relationship, not for us to come under responsibility or obligation for relationship. He wants us to respond to him in the way the he created us, not in the way that someone else told us we should respond.
Expectancy allows us to hope and fix our eyes on the vision. We come expectant for God's goodness but there is freedom for it to look however it looks, we leave being filled with God's goodness instead of disappointed that He didn't come the way that we expected him to.
Expectancy gives room for growth too. It is not rigid like expectation.
I am challenged where I have placed expectation on people not giving them freedom to respond in the way that they were created to. And I am challenged where I have placed an expectation on God and walked away disappointed because he didn't do what I wanted....when in reality I've actually missed what it is he did and the blessing he gave because I was so focussed on my expectation. When I come with an expectancy that God will move he does and He responds as the God that he is and I am free to respond to him because my expectant heart is seeing that He is moving and that He IS good.
We repent of placing limitations on you God, for not 'allowing' you to respond and for sulking when it doesn't go 'our way'...!!!
FREEDOM FROM EXPECTATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITY
FREEDOM INTO EXPECTANCY (of GREAT things) and RESPONSE IN THE WAY THAT WE WERE CREATED.