Hope vs Expections

This morning I was asking God about His promises. I felt that they were hard on me. I was so sick of them. It would be easier if I had no promises from Him.

Then I suddenly recalled a sermon from Bayless Conley- something like "Expectations in things set you for the disappointments, but expectations from God set you for success." As I think about it, a question was infused into my thought, "What's the difference between hope and expectation?"

I googled for their definitions and any article that explains the difference. I suddenly realized that I expected a lot of things in my life. I expected something from God and from the people instead of hope. Their definitions are similar- they both internally desired for something in our journey. But they both have a different way of expressing. Hope expresses a feeling or an intuitive that it shall be (which opens to others' point-of-view). Expectation expresses a knowledge or a determined set of values that it shall be (in one's point-of-view of course).

Here is the chart from the article I found that would help us survey ourselves whether we have the attitude of hoping or expecting:

So grateful for the insight this morning. It helps me to hope and expect (a different kind of espectation) in God. It is not with a fearful expectation of judgment (Heb 10:27) but with expectation in what God had specifically and eternally promised (Phil 1:20).

"The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish." -Prov 10:28