While the two seem similar on the surface, there is a big difference between faith vs. expectation. One leads to disappointment, and the other to perseverance during the darkest times. But how do you tell the difference? How do you avoid falling into the trap of one while you’re striving for the other? There are three lessons we can learn from the biblical account in Exodus. Whether it’s Moses and the Israelites or you and me today, it’s all about the object of our beliefs.
First, Some Definitions
According to the dictionary, an expectation is “a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future” or “a belief that someone will or should achieve something.” Expectation looks for actions, situations, and results to determine if a belief has been met. If not, we feel “disappointment,” a sadness that these were not fulfilled.
Faith, on the other hand, is about confidence or trust in God and His promises. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith refuses to look at circumstances but instead looks at the person of God DESPITE what happens in the natural. It’s a persistent belief in God and His Word even when nothing happens the way we thought it would.
The Israelites Had Expectations
In Exodus 14 when Moses finally got the children of Israel out of Egypt, it looked like everything was turning around. Gone were the days of slavery. In fact, after ten plagues, the passing over of the Death Angel, and God’s promise to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the Israelites expected Egypt and everything in it to be in their rearview mirror for good. They were free at last!
But God let Moses know right away that the story wasn’t going to end there. There was one more chapter that involved God showing the Egyptians just exactly Who they were dealing with. He told Moses to take the people toward the sea to encamp and wait for the Egyptians to come after them. (Wait, what?)
When the Israelites saw the Egyptian army coming over the horizon, disappointment is an understatement. Exodus 14:11-12 says, “And they said unto Moses, ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, “Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?” For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.’” When things didn’t happen the way they thought they would (or should), they immediately assumed the worst. God had led them out of the frying pan and straight into the fire.
But Moses Had Faith
Moses, on the other hand, wasn’t looking at the situation. He was looking at his God. Exodus 14:15 says, “And Moses said unto the people, ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace..”
Of course, we all know what happened after that. Moses raised his staff, the sea parted, the cloud of God got behind the children of Israel, and the people walked over the sea on dry ground. When the Egyptians tried to do the same, the Lord troubled the armies and commanded Moses to stretch out his hand once again. The water came back over the Egyptians who had dared to follow, drowning them all.
3 Lessons We Can Learn from Exodus
1. It’s not always about us.
Just like God had a plan for the Israelites to be freed and settle in the Promised Land, He also had a plan for the Egyptians. That one involved vengeance for some as well as proving to those who escaped that He was the one and only God. That means that the children of Israel weren’t His only consideration. His plans were higher, and His purpose went beyond what they could even imagine. The Israelites had to go through some things that weren’t about them at all.
It’s the same with us. While we only see our situation and the path we are on, the Lord sees all the paths of all the people. He knows where we must go and what we must experience to achieve purposes that we know nothing about, have no ability to fathom. Even when we don’t understand what is happening (or why), we can have faith that God is in control and working all things for our good (Romans 8:28).
2. Complaining doesn’t accomplish anything. Having faith does.
Three days after they found the shore of the Red Sea (in Exodus 15), the people again faced expectations. They thought for sure that God would take care of them with fresh water on their trip. When the waters of Marah were bitter, the people murmured against God. Moses prayed in faith, and the Lord showed him how to make the waters sweet. A month after that (in Exodus 16), the people murmured in hunger. Surely God would know they needed food and prepare for that. Wouldn’t He feed them if He cared at all? But Moses again prayed in faith, and God gave them bread from Heaven (manna). In fact, time after time in Exodus, the people expected things in the natural and were disappointed when it didn’t happen the way they thought it would. Moses, on the other hand, looked to God in faith.
As for us, God knows what we have need of before we even ask, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to pray. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Prayer is God’s way of getting things done. It reminds us that God is in control, not we, ourselves, and it puts us in the position of gratitude when He comes through again and again. When we find ourselves in situations that are less than ideal, instead of complaining, we should pray in faith that God will take care of our needs even if it doesn’t happen the way we might expect.
3. God is Faithful
Reading Exodus, it’s hard to believe that the children of Israel could ever doubt God when He proved Himself faithful again and again. He protected them from the plagues, guided them day and night, parted the red sea, gave them bread from Heaven and water from a rock, made sure they prevailed in battle, and even made it so their clothes never wore out or got too small throughout their whole journey. Even when the people complained and threatened to go back to Egypt, God watched over them and provided for them every time.
As believers today, we are also God’s people. And just like our Old Testament counterparts, we can have a similar blindness to the many ways God is faithful to us. He protects us, provides for us, helps us, guides us, and gives us great favor. But then when something comes up in our lives that is outside what we might expect, suddenly we’re wondering if God has left us to fend for ourselves in the wilderness. (He was here last week, but I have been praying for almost 15 minutes, and He’s NOT HERE YET!)
If we will just back up and see the bigger picture, we can recalibrate our reactions to match the faithful Moses instead of the faithless children of Israel. Share on XFaith vs. Expectation
Expectations are about the specifics. Like a house of cards, as we start looking at situations, our minds start getting logic and reason involved. Surely if this happened, then it means that this will happen next. One card goes on another card, and soon we have a pretty tall tower – ready to fall the moment things don’t happen exactly the way we expect them to.
Faith, on the other hand, is realizing that everything is not about us, prayer is much more effective than complaining, and God is faithful (even when we aren’t). It’s about keeping our eyes off our situations and placing them firmly on our God.
Enjoy blogs about Exodus? Check out Beware: A New Attack of the Spirit of Egypt. In it, God reveals a not-so-new tactic of the Enemy to get us to go back into the world. Or, try Exodus Is a Type of Salvation: A Lesson in Responsibility.. In that one, the Lord asked me the question, “Whose responsibility was it to get the people to the Promised Land?” Please subscribe in the upper right corner (or at the bottom on a phone). Also, check out my YouTube Channel. There, I read my blogs out loud and have a playlist of hymns.
