It is easy to be carried away by what we see at the moment. That is why the Lord wants you to hear this today. I had planned to write something else, but God woke me up with this scripture, and it has been on my mind and would not let go. I had not considered it, yet it pressed itself upon me. This scripture may be for you.
“For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.”
Proverbs 23:18, KJV
Do not judge God’s dealings with His people by the middle of the story.
The Christian’s present condition may be full of uncertainty: poor, despised, persecuted, disappointed, apparently unsuccessful.
Yet the believer has something the world cannot see: a future.
The wicked man may seem to have everything now, while the righteous man seems to have little.
But surely, there is an end.
There is an appointed consummation. There is a latter end.
You may have followed the Lord for years. You have prayed many prayers. You have given alms. You have been persecuted or suffered for righteousness’ sake. You may have given up something of great significance for the sake of the fear of God while you watch sinners profit in their sins as if there is no gain in righteousness. I know your heart is full of expectations from God.
Let me ask, what are you expecting?
Not merely what you say you expect, but what your heart looks toward.
You may expect answers to prayer, grace to overcome sin, usefulness in God’s service, provision, healing, restoration, the salvation of loved ones, perseverance to the end, and ultimately, Christ Himself.
But your expectations must be purified by Scripture.
You cannot take every desire of your heart and stamp God’s name upon it.
Where God Himself has given a promise, you may expect Him to keep it.
This is what it often looks like:
He prays, but sees no answer. He obeys, but sees little fruit. He struggles and feels weak. He sees ungodly people flourishing.
The temptation is: “Perhaps I have believed in vain.”
No.
Your expectation may be delayed, but it is not destroyed.
God’s clock may move slowly according to your reckoning, but it never moves wrongly.
The promise is not that the righteous shall have everything they expect; the promise is that their true expectation shall not be disappointed.
God sometimes answers: Yes. Wait. No, I have something better.
So your confidence cannot be in outcomes.
It must be in God.
“Lord, I expect Thee to be faithful.”
We expect Christ. We expect resurrection. We expect the end of sin. We expect perfect holiness. We expect to see our Lord.
And that expectation cannot be cut off.
Do not abandon the path because the reward is delayed.
Do not envy the sinner. Do not abandon holiness because it appears costly. Do not stop praying because the answer has not come. Do not stop obeying because obedience has not yet produced visible reward. Do not throw away your confidence because you cannot see what God is doing.
For surely there is an end.
Do not judge the faithfulness of God by the present appearance of your circumstances.
Wait for the end.
Your expectation may pass through fire, but it shall not perish, because the God in whom you hope is faithful.
Prayer
Lord, fix my eyes on the end You have appointed. Teach me to trust Your faithfulness above what I see.
Today’s Study
Read Proverbs 23:17-18 and Psalm 73:1-20.
Look for the tension: the prosperity of the wicked and the struggle of the righteous.
Notice how the psalmist almost slips when he judges by what he sees.
Pay attention to the turning point: “until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.”
Observe how everything changes when the end is revealed.
Ask yourself: Am I interpreting my life from the present, or from the end God has appointed?
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