Faith Isn’t Just Believing—It’s Expecting

Because here’s the thing:
Faith isn’t just belief.
Faith includes expectation.

And that’s a huge distinction.
I’ve come to see that sometimes, when we say we have faith, what we really have is hope. And hope is beautiful. It’s needed. It’s holy even. But hope alone isn’t enough to move the mountain.

Hope desires.
Hope imagines.
Hope looks forward to something good.
But faith sees it already done.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is substance. It’s spiritual material. It’s not a vague idea or wishful thinking. It’s the place where hope grows up and becomes a declaration—an inner knowing—that says, “I don’t just want this. I have it. I’m expecting it.”

But here’s what I’ve learned the hard way…

You can’t expect God’s best while secretly preparing for the worst.

And I say that as someone who’s done it—who’s lived in the in-between space of praying one thing while mentally rehearsing the opposite.

I would pray for healing and then speak of my pain in ways that kept magnifying it.
I didn’t know I was doing that at the time. But looking back, I can see it so clearly now.
I was reinforcing the very thing I was asking God to remove.

“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

And what was overflowing from my heart?
Fear.
Doubt.
Self-protection.
Low-grade, chronic expectation of disappointment.

And that—right there—is what kept me stuck.

What are you expecting right now?

Are you expecting to be rejected again?
Expecting to wake up in pain tomorrow?
Expecting that the money won’t come through?
Expecting that the good things never quite land in your lap?

That’s not just pessimism. That’s not just realism.
That’s faith in reverse.
That’s a belief system that’s been wired into your heart through disappointment, and it’s quietly shaping the way you see your life.

And I’m here to tell you—you can change that.
You can renew your mind.
You can rewire what you expect.

And it starts, friend, with meditating on what God says is true.

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
“Whatever is true… lovely… excellent… think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
“No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)

When you feed your mind with the truth, your spirit begins to believe it.
And as you believe it—really believe it—your expectation shifts.
You stop bracing for impact and start leaning into promise.

And the moment that happens?
Faith starts to work.

Because faith flows from the soil of right expectation.
And just like no seed can grow in poisoned ground, faith can’t take root in a heart full of dread.

We’ll talk more in the next post about how science is now confirming what God already said in His Word.
(You’re going to love this: it’s called The Expectation Effect, and it’s not a theory—it’s proven.)

But for now, just take a breath and ask the Spirit this simple question:

🧡 What am I expecting?
🧡 And is that expectation in agreement with the promises of God?

If not, it’s time to go deeper—not by working harder, but by filling your heart with truth until it spills out of you.

Because when your heart gets full of truth, your mouth starts to speak it.
And when your mouth starts to speak it?
You’re planting seeds.
You’re creating a new reality.
You’re moving into faith territory—where the impossible becomes possible.

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