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I listened to the story of a lady on Facebook on Thursday. I am not mentioning her name because I did not ask her permission to do so. She told a touching story of her life-long struggle with sickle cell. I have been her friend on Facebook for years, so, I know some of her story. It had been a back and forth story of hospital visits. I had always thought she handles her case very well because each time she is hospitalized, she expresses this type of faith that I thought was amazing. She is fond of saying “Sickle cell will not have a leg up on me because God’s hand is in my matter.” So, in her struggles, she still believed God’s hand is in her matter. She told a moving story of how after she was discharged from the hospital the last time in the United Kingdom, she boarded a plane and went to a Church in Florence, Italy. She talked about how she prayed and told God all she wanted is to be healed of this sickle cell disease. She told God she is tired of the back and forth to the hospital. She told God she is tired of the blood transfusion and asked God to intervene in the matter. I had actually started wondering why I had not heard from her lately, then she came with this wonderful testimony of how she has not visited a hospital in the last eight months, the longest since 2001. In fact. She called her live video on Facebook a testimony. She said she must thank God because only God could have done this.
I have shared this story above to say, God is still in the business of answering prayers. God is still in the business of fulfilling expectations. Our faith not only helps us to deal with things that come our way; our faith allows us to recognize the goodness or the hands of God in our lives. Even while this lady was visiting the hospital on a six-weekly basis, she will always come and thank God for His grace in her life. Despite the pains she still recognized the power of God. Here she is and she has been eight months free from all those things. Psalms 34:5 says “those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” One thing about Faith is that it helps us to always have a positive expectation. And there is that word of God in Proverbs 23:28 which says, “there is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” The King James version says, “for surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.”
People of the Kingdom, challenges will come, but I need you to know that challenges will also go. The word of God says there is a hope for you, I need you to believe that. Maintain your faith and maintain your positive expectation. It is faith and positive expectations that bring miracles, and it can come anytime. Just believe that God can take care of your situation, always go to Him in prayers, cast all your burdens on Him and be sure not to exercise any doubt and the faithful God will come through for you in His own time.
It might look like you are falling and there is no hope, but expectation demands that you hold on to the word of God, declare it and meditate on it! Expectation demands that you cast all your burdens upon the Lord for He cares for you. Refuse to count the months which leads to doubting God! Just look to Him, the author and finisher of your faith. So, in this blessed year, I prophesy to you that your expectations shall not be cut off. I need you to receive it and believe it. Know that the gestation of God’s manifest miracles is in the womb of expectations. Expect positive things this year because He who expects nothing shall receive nothing. I know you have been on this mountain for a while, but it is not time to give up yet. Great testimonies surround you and the God who had birthed these testimonies is still on the throne. Stay faithful, stay hopeful, be expectant and the God who has promised not to forget the needy will not forget you and your hope shall not perish (Psalm 9:18). – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya
