HEALING EXPECTATIONS & AMBITIONS

“I look for (προσδοκῶ, exspecto, чаю) the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.” (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed)

One of the meanings of the word “doxa,” which is part of the word “Ortho-dox,” is “expectation.” I don’t think this meaning gets enough press, so here’s some “press” about it -just for you, my friends

To be “Orthodox” means not only having “upright opinion” and “upright glorification/worship,” but in light of that true glory of the true God, also having our *expectation(s)* straightened out or aligned with His. In practical terms, this means that on a daily basis, I let God heal my not-straight, delusional, fear-based, or wishful-thinking kinds of expectations and ambitions, all of which lead to pain.

My fundamental “expectation,” or that which I am always to “look for” in any situation, is new life; “the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come.” This new life-from-death breaks into my life already in my here and now, whenever I let God replace a resentment with acceptance; self-reliant fear with God-reliant faith; and unreasonable demands of myself and others with humility and patience. If I wake up on any given morning with feelings of dread, I need to scramble promptly into God’s presence, in a bit of heartfelt prayer, because those feelings of dread are God’s tap on the shoulder, saying, “Hey! Come back! There is work to be done today, and I need you amidst My workers!”

Every new day that God sends me has new life, to be brought forth or mined, so to say, from the depths of my heart, in synergy with God’s grace and His faith in each of us. It’s not time to be wasted, on digging a hole for ourselves, based on the picture of doom-and-gloom that our 24/7 news-cycle sometimes seems to be painting for us. What we are given to see, when we take up the dignifying work of nourishing our faith, is the new life that is springing forth from all of it. Let me “look for” it today, as I let God bring my heart back to life in Him. “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6: 2). Amen!