Hope and Anticipation
contributed by Berry Hudson
Do you enjoy looking forward to things? Maybe it’s the anticipation of going to a restaurant you have heard is really good or visiting a new city or a national park you have never seen before. It can be a lot of fun to go “all in" on anticipation. You look at the menu before you visit the restaurant to see what you might order, or you look up all the sites you might visit at the new destination. It is not a coincidence that we do this. Neurological research shows that there is a unique “anticipatory dopamine” release when we look forward to something. This “feel good” part of our brain chemistry means that looking forward to something causes us to experience pleasure as we anticipate pleasure. This effect can be so powerful that Seven Habits of Highly Effective People author Stephen Covey would organize his family life so that they would all consistently have some anticipated fun event to anticipate. This was not by accident. He knew the power it could have to create positive experiences and motivation in those whom he loved. To cultivate a positive anticipation means we can turn a fun day into a week of excitement. There is a lot to like about this life strategy. God has clearly designed us to be people who live in anticipation of good things. In fact, it’s hard to think about life in a way where we don’t look forward to things in some way.
There is a downside to this. We can have this part of our design manipulated by others who know how to create that response in us. Think about that the next time you find yourself doom scrolling or suddenly realize you’ve taken a four-hour online shopping trip. Those things don’t happen by accident. As well, we’ve all had the experience of looking forward to something that doesn’t quite live up to the anticipation we had. Maybe that excellent restaurant overcooked your entrée, or it rained all day on your visit to that place you thought would be so great to see. We can lose the ability to hope in anticipation.
Me (as a counselor): What is something you’ve enjoyed doing in the past?
Person (who wants me to help): I used to like to take walks early in the morning as the sun rises.
Me: That sounds like a great thing. How about taking one this Saturday?
Person: No, it’ll probably be too cold.
Me: Ok, what else have you enjoyed?
Person: I used to have fun hanging out with friends.
Me: That sounds like a fun thing to do this week.
Person: Not really, they’ll probably just talk about themselves all the time, and I'll just get annoyed.
We don’t have to be in a major depression to find it challenging to look forward to things that have not lived up to expectations. It happens. Hopeful anticipation can be a risky business.
Thankfully, Scripture has much to say about hope and anticipation in our lives and how to direct our hearts in the process.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us(Ephesians 3:20).
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him (Isa. 64:4/1 Cor. 2:9).
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Rom 5:5)
There is no doubt we are called to live in anticipation of a good that is beyond our full understanding. God is working in our lives in ways that will not just meet expectations but make us desire a stronger ability to anticipate. The common ground of these verses is that each situation calls on Christian hope and anticipation to strengthen hearts and minds in faithful living in the middle of challenging circumstances. So, it’s not just a way to feel better now; it’s the path to know the greatest truth about who we are: we are designed for an eternal good that is better than the best good, the most enjoyable experience that we could ever imagine (2 Cor 4:17-18). C.S. Lewis says it well:
These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire, but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, or news from a country we have never visited.
In other words, Heaven. So, how do we put God’s truth to work in our lives? First, it is good for us to seek out goodthings to anticipate in life. It’s healthy and the way God has designed us. Find good experiences, healthy habits, interesting places, and quality relationships, and put in your best effort to enjoy them as fully as you can. If you find a great place to eat, make the most of every bite, which is not always easy to do. At the same time, let those things you anticipate and then experience point you toward what you are really designed to enjoy—God’s perfect presence and the world to come.