When I think about times when I was filled with eager expectations, many events come to mind: the first time I was hired as an employee, the first time I taught a Sunday School class, and, of course, my wedding day. Each time, I strained against time to step into my new role. Straining against a dead car or in a rope pull is exhausting, but straining against time is debilitating.
Eager expectation is a single word in Greek, ἀποκαραδοκία (apokaradokia), and is very evocative. It literally means intense anticipation, straining forward with an outstretched head, much like spectators strain to catch a glimpse of horses thundering at a horse track as they enter the home stretch. So, in Romans, chapter eight, this eager expectation speaks of a desire the whole world of nature has to compress time because it all longs for its freedom that will soon come.
For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Romans 8:19-21 NLT
There are several places in God’s Word that speak of creation being subjugated by God’s curse because of sin. In Genesis 3:17, God says, “cursed is the ground because of you.” And, in Revelation 5:13 ESV, we find, “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’ ” So, it is clear that God’s creation has “skin in the game” for the event when the children of God (true believers in Jesus) are revealed.
We find this same word, ἀποκαραδοκία, in Philippians 1:20 ESV – Bible Gateway:
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
Here, Scripture speaks of eager expectation as intense anticipation. Paul, with intense anticipation and hope, believes that he will have the God-given courage to “speak highly” of Christ Jesus both through his natural life and through his death. Paul has set an example for us; this is how we should live.
It is with this same eager expectation, this straining to see, that you and I should have for the return of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The longer I live in this world, the deeper my desire is for Jesus to return. Day by day, my hope is for Christ’s quick return. No words were ever truer than what John the Revelator wrote: “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)
** No part of this article was produced by artificial intelligence (AI). **