Expectant vs. Expecting

I have to tell a story, before I get to this thought...

The other morning I was spending time with the LORD (reading the Bible/praying).  I was overwhelmed with the thought that something really good was on the horizon.  The actual thought I had was a picture of the lake, it was beautiful and amazing!  That picture came with the thought that just like that picture, God has something He is about to bring that is amazing and beautiful.  I am not joking, within 5 minutes of that thought, Kasey texted and said she had this feeling that God was going to do something really good that day.

Now to the point of the post...I immediately thought, "I am going to sell a house today", "Someone is going to call and I am going to list an amazing house that is going to sell quickly".  Those were the thoughts, and others like it, that ran through my mind.  Then God gave me a little front end alignment! He gave me the thought, "There is a difference between expecting and being expectant".

Expecting is defined as, "regarding (something) as likely to happen".  This is (at least in my mind) something specific.  I believe (blank) will occur.  That is what happened to me the other day, and truthfully happens to me a lot.  God starts to move and work and I am expecting Him to come through in a certain way.

Expectant is different.  It is defined as, "having or showing an excited feeling that something is about to happen, especially something pleasant and interesting." Expectant feels different to me.  It is something is going to happen, but it is not specific.  There is a little more unknown to it.  There is excitement that some unspecified thing is going to happen.

Expecting, even by definition, seems more demanding, this thing is "likely to happen".  Expectant says I have "an excited feeling" about something coming.

When God starts to move, I want to put some exact action on it.  The thing that breeds is demand, "God this thing should happen."  It also breeds disappointment, "God you are moving, but if you don't do (blank) it is not good enough."

Expectant is so much better.  It is a faith step.  It is an unknown of what God wants to do.  It doesn't breed disappointment, it breeds excitement.  It also doesn't limit God!  I would have loved to have sold a house that day, but what if God had something different that was WAY better (hopefully I recognize that material things are not the end all and what God has is so much better). What if I sold a house, but God had something else I missed because I was SO focused on that?

I want to live expectant.  I want to live in a way that says God you are moving and I don't care what you do, I am expectant that you are going to do something!  How much better is to live that way?  How much more joy does that breed?  How much more faith?  If I'm only looking to sell a house, that is a NARROW view.  If I am believing God for something big, my gaze is more broad and open to whatever He may have!

Which do you naturally live in...Expectant or Expecting?