What should we expect from God?

Really interesting and helpful talk at the church meeting this morning (thanks, Simon!). I won't summarise the whole talk – it should soon be up on our church's website (password needed) – but one thing Simon mentioned in passing got me thinking. He said God has often let him down and not done what Simon was hoping or expecting. So what should we expect from God?

I want to focus on two areas where we might have expectations of God; guidance and 'fixing things'. There are no doubt other things we expect from God but I've been thinking about those two areas in particular as they were mentioned in the talk this morning.

Divine guidance

We have to make decisions all the time, most of them fairly trivial (what clothes should I wear today, what should I have for breakfast...) but some very important. With the important decisions, it'd be quite nice if God made it clear which option which should choose, wouldn't it?

But does he? Should he? Where does it come from, this idea that God will guide us?

It seems to me that God's intention for us is that we become mature, holy disciples, which means people who naturally and almost effortlessly do what's right. He doesn't want to 'tell us what to do', rather he wants us to be so transformed in our character that our default setting is to act within his will.

I don't want to say that God never guides us through signs, coincidences, prophecies and the like. He clearly does use those methods. But my sense is that it's God's preference for us to work in partnership with him, submitting to his gentle, gracious shaping of our human nature so that, when tested, we do what God would have us do. This thought has been expressed as 'Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.'

Expecting God to make things better

When we pray (certainly when I pray!) it's often along the lines of asking God to make some situation better. Again, I don't want to say this is wrong but it's a prayer that's largely absent from the New Testament. As I've written before, the far more frequent prayer in the New Testament is 'Lord, fix us!'. One example is from Colossians 1:9-12:

We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.


We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.

Just to emphasise, I think it's fine to ask God for relief from what troubles us. Indeed one lady gave a particularly poignant illustration of this at our meeting this morning. But let's also pray for God to work in us so we can live well and bring him honour in the midst of our trials.

It's (almost) like watching Brazil

Roy Hodgson (picture from The Sun website)

As I start typing this, we're into the 40^th minute of England's football friendly with Italy. Roy Hodgson's first game as manager without any major pressure, where he can experiment and begin the process of building up to the next international competition. So far, I must say I've been very impressed. The players aren't afraid being in possession, there's a lot of movement off the ball, and some pretty nifty play at times. Adam Johnson on the right has particularly caught my eye with a couple of lovely moves, but the whole team is looking confident and ambitious.

Matches like this can be so useful for a new(ish) manager, being a great opportunity for him to take a look at fringe players and try new tactics and formations. Hodgson's taken this opportunity fully, I think; starting Cleverley, Johnson, Walker and Carrick and giving the 4-2-3-1 formation a go. Remember when Italy passed us to death in the Euros? Their star midfielder Pirlo had more passes than our entire midfield in total. Yes, I know they only won on penalties but we were so lucky to last that long, don't you think? Whereas in this game (no Pirlo, I realise!) we are competing in midfield and getting into some good positions. I'm optimistic.

My only negative is the big lad up front. Andy Carroll totally does not fit in this sort of system and I can well understand why Liverpool are trying to get rid of him, seeing as their new manager, Brendan Rogers, is also a fan of this tiki-taka quick passing stuff. On that note, I'm really excited to see how Liverpool do this season!

The second half is just about to start so let's see if England can keep up the good work. I expect there'll be a few substitutions so the rest of the game might well not be as fluent, but never mind. I've seen enough to give me hope that England could do all right under Hodgson's stewardship.

Reconnecting

I was off work last week and had a marvellous few days of walking in the Peak District with my friend Gary. I don't do it often enough but I love getting out into the countryside, away from human-created noise, and tramping up a few hills. And as you'll see from these photographs, the Peak District has plenty of hills!

The thing I like most about walking, though, is that it really helps me reconnect with God. Partly that's about escaping from the city and experiencing a bit of nature, but for me it's mostly about spending several hours with a few close friends and having a good old natter. I especially love it when we talk about faith issues; anything from how much we're growing in godly character, to new songs we've recently learnt, to thorny doctrinal issues like what you have to do in order to be truly saved.

It seems the unhurried nature of a day out with a few people gives the perfect opportunity for wide-ranging and often deep discussion, leading to a real connection with my walking companions and with God. That's certainly been the case for me with this trip and I'm very thankful for the fresh sense of closeness with God. I've not felt this way much this year so it's a welcome relief.