“Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.”
Charles Dickens Great Expectations.
Last Friday I was at a church staff breakfast and as we were talking about our great expectations for a move of the Holy Spirit, I felt Him turn my attention to Charles Dickens’ book Great Expectations.
I had seen the film several times and had read it at school. In his book there is a character called Miss Havisham; she’s engaged to a guy called Compeyson, who was conspiring with a relative of hers, Arthur, to marry Miss Havisham just for her money. However he jilted her at the altar which broke her heart.
She had become an ageing wealthy woman whose life stopped many years ago at exactly twenty minutes to nine, the exact moment she was jilted at the altar on her wedding day. After being left at the altar by him, Miss Havisham lives her life in isolation with her adopted daughter Estella.
I began to reflect on what a wasted life she had; her perspective was governed by the rejection and pain that she felt in her heart. She had been humiliated in front of family and friends, shame was overshadowing her, and she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. That unresolved hurt soon turned to anger which became a root of bitterness towards all men, which in turn robbed her of any real chance of love and happiness.
When I was going through my divorce, my emotions were all over the place. I would cry then have murderous intent! It was a long drawn out procedure that took over two years to finalise. I was doing my best to protect my children by not speaking badly about their dad. Everything was being internalised. I thought that I was doing a good job of keeping things under wraps. Boy, was I mistaken!
A lady in my church challenged me one day and told me that I was getting bitter, and it was showing on my face and in my attitude. I had not discussed any of my private life with her so quite frankly I was shocked! I had a choice to make - ignore what she said and have the attitude ‘Well she hasn’t gone through what I’m going through!’ (but actually she had - her husband had divorced her in South Africa leaving her penniless and she returned to the UK with nothing, having to start a new life in her late 50’s), or allow the Holy Spirit to use her words to challenge me.
I have some lovely friends who have a little terrier called Wesley. He’s adorable with the cutest face. However he can be naughty, and when he is I hear them saying to him, ‘Wesley, right choices.’ I can watch his little face responding to those words which he seems to understand and responds to better than hearing a ‘No’ or ‘Bad boy'.
I made a choice that day to let the Holy Spirit move on my heart. I forgave my former husband and repented of my judgments. At that time, I was reading the book of Isaiah and came to the scripture that says this,
“For your maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is His name – the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer; he is called God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5
This scripture was a real challenge to me, to see and allow God to have that spiritual role in my life. Over the years I had read the bible many times and had an understanding that we, His children that make up the church, are the bride of Christ. Men are as much the bride of Christ as women are the sons of God.

I remember there was one occasion in a church meeting where a woman was floating around in an actual wedding dress. I remember feeling weird about it, but what if it was a case that she really knew who she was, and it was a prophetic sign - that she was dancing for the lover of her soul, her bridegroom, happy and free!
There isn’t a person on the planet that at some point in their life will feel disappointment, betrayal, loss, or rejection. ‘Being left at the altar by someone we thought was our friend.’ Miss Havisham is alive and kicking in so many people, and being a Christian is no exception. In fact it's sad that there are many Christians today who don’t know how much God loves them and that they have such a place in His heart that he refers to us as the bride of His son Jesus. The wonderful thing is, that it’s one of the roles of the Holy Spirit to make the bride ready and present us spotless and without fault!
Miss Havisham became a walking living ghost, still dressed in her wedding gown going through rooms that continued to haunt her and surrounded by the frozen scene of what was supposed to be her special day.
Anyone of us could be Miss Havisham, past and present, a man or a woman,
wearing the shame and labels of the past, trapped, and haunted by the disappointments and trauma of life. When we fail to let go of the past and live from a place of anger and bitterness, we have a detrimental effect on those around us, stifling their growth, and expecting complete and utter loyalty from them. Out of our own pain we manipulate and use others to fulfil our own agenda to make us feel better, kidding ourselves that we know best and we want to protect them from having to go through what we did!
Miss Havisham weaponized Estella’s personality and beauty, teaching her to be heartless and cruel to men as a payback for the pain that she had felt when rejected by her fiancé.
Two lives were being destroyed unnecessarily! Both women were trapped in a time zone of only one’s making. The fingers of the clock were frozen in time, the wedding cake and food was covered in vermin. The room was shrouded in darkness and Miss Havisham had a veil over her heart and eyes as she sat amongst the filth of time gone by.
The enemy wants us to live in isolation and darkness and he uses the trauma of life to fool us into thinking that God isn’t good, and He doesn’t love us!
God has Great Expectations for all of us!
There is always redemption! At the end of the book, the scales come off the eyes of Miss Havisham. She confesses to Estella that she was using her to get revenge on other men - innocent men. She apologises to Pip who had never stopped loving Estella. In her pursuit of his forgiveness, she gets too close to the fireplace, her dress catches fire and she dies in the flames.
While we still have breath in our lungs it’s never too late to put things right, especially with God. It’s never too late to say sorry and to pursue forgiveness.
Estella planned to live in seclusion in the house she inherited, because Drumble had broken off their engagement after he was told of her true parentage. She didn’t realise that she was free from the curse that Miss Havisham caused them to live under.
Pip loved her and so he proceeded to tear down the curtains and force open the boarded-up windows and for the first time in years sunlight illuminated that room revealing cobwebs, dust, decay and death. Pip told Estella that he had always loved her and together they left that mausoleum!

As a young man marries a young woman, so will your builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will God rejoice over you. Isaiah 62:5
The Holy Spirit wants to blow away the cobwebs of our mind, open the shutters of our heart and let His glorious light come in to dispel the darkness that holds us captive to the trauma of life with the truth of who we really are, the bride of Christ! To clothe us in a radiant white wedding gown, adorn us with jewels, so like the woman in that meeting we can proudly wear our wedding gown free from fear and unashamedly dance before our maker, our husband, whose name is YAHWEH, our kinsman, Redeemer.

‘Let us see into the future that is to come. Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready!’ Revelation 19:7
“Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.” Charles Dickens Great Expectations.

Images by FreePik
How wonderful it is to know we are Loved by Yahwah. His peace surpasses ALL understanding. True freedom open up those heavenly gates let he King of Glory enter in 🙏