Why can anticipation be more exciting than actually getting what you hoped for?
Anticipation is more exciting because looking forward to something repeatedly sustains expectancy, while realization ends the hoping. Hope concerns what is not seen; if something is already seen, there is no need to hope. Patient waiting on God keeps that expectancy alive, since His timing is not constrained by our timetable.
Les explains that faith and hope are intricately intertwined. He shares an expression he learned over the years: anticipation is far more exciting than realization. When a person looks forward to something and keeps looking forward to it, that is more exciting than when it finally arrives. He connects this to Romans 8: if a man sees something, there is no need to hope for it. But if we hope by faith for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. With God, time does not mean that much; He is not concerned whether He brings everything to fruition tomorrow, ten years from now, or a hundred years from now. We know it is coming, and we cannot push God to do it faster, so we wait patiently. In patience, we must never lose sight that it is going to happen: Christ is going to return, and it feels sooner every day. Les also notes that the Holy Spirit indwelling us helps our infirmities and weaknesses, though we deal with the invisible realm of the Spirit. Let God do it.