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Do you remember hurdles back in school? You know… the big, tall, shin breakers P.E. teachers gleefully erected expecting you to gracefully leap over in gazelle-like fashion. We weren’t at an equestrian centre or Crufts, after all! Honestly though, what is the point in hurdles? Just run. Why place obstacles in the way? Backdrop set.
As if life is that easy. As if understanding God is as simple as going for a jog, or a hundred-metre dash!
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In the spring of 2016 I finished my A-Levels. I had spent the last three years at home working at the maths bias I had decided to put myself through. Not so easy. Nevertheless, I completed it! Yes! It was a sweet victory, but there was a flip side. All my friends were either already at University or pursuing with great clarity the interests they knew would take them onwards and upwards. I felt I was behind, underachieving, and under pressure.
At the time I was very involved with church life leading a cell group, leading worship, and on the leadership team. And that was great, but I had ambitions and dreams of other great, and exciting things. As is the case with all plans and desires, eventually the rubber must hit the road. Feeling the weight of expectations, I tried to balance those from myself, my family and friends. I would regularly face questions like “I thought you said you were going to do this?!” or “How do you expect to accomplish this when you are doing that?”. Enter the moments of quandary.
Frequently, I went back to the thought, “What does God want me to do?” “What is His plan?” If only He could speak to me right now and tell me. Here’s the crunch, my thinking was wrong. The problem I had was constantly worrying about whether I was ‘doing’ God’s plan. Had I missed the boat? I attempted to take control of my situation. I made some rash decisions affecting people at church where I quit leading altogether to pursue my own course of action. Later in the year I followed through with a long-term plan to apply to the Military which didn’t go well. I failed their aptitude test for my desired role. My entire year had been building up to this and I was disappointed in myself. What had it all been for? A blank page…
What does God expect from me, and what have I learned?
Expectations can feel like unnecessary hurdles getting in the way of a run. The anxiety of not knowing if you’ll make the next jump can often be visceral. How do we approach them?
In Matthew 22, the Pharisees come to Jesus. They ask him, “What is the greatest commandment in the Law?” What they were really asking him was, “What is the highest priority for God?”. Obviously, they were trying to catch him out. Jesus responds, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” He follows up by saying, “Everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from these.”
I have learned that God does not control my life, nor does he want to. My actions are my responsibility and they have consequences. He gives me the freedom to choose and ask for wisdom. He makes a way for me to enter His presence and seek Him. Everything flows from that secret place. I still have my ambitions and goals, and perhaps they are stronger now. However, they are framed in the belief that Jesus is the only one I need to please!
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Interview
Deeper: The Backstory
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Do you feel like God’s expectations are too big?
So I believe that God never gives us challenges too big that we can’t handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). Having said that I don’t think they are easy. As with anything, the more you work at it the easier it becomes. Likewise the more we spend time with the Lord talking with Him, listening to Him, Loving Him and worshipping him. This doesn’t make dealing with what God expects of us any easier, it just means we a better equipped.
How do you know God’s expectations for you?
As a general rule I would quote Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand findeth to do, do it with all your might”, and Proverbs 6:6 (New Living Translation, “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!”. These were both written by the same author. There seems to be an emphasis on being excellent in all we do. So that is the first thing I think we can tie that into specific gifts too. Jesus gave a parable about the gifts he gives to you and me. Those who took what Jesus gave them, worked on them and improved were given more and the Lord was pleased with them.
So the question is what gifts has the Lord given you to work on and invest in? Do you even know? If not ask him! Then there is specific direction. The type of thing I mentioned in my story. We might have the tendency to want God to give us clear direction for our lives or in a specific situation. I believe He gives both, and if we listen we will hear Him. However, he has given us all we need to press on and live a life glorifying to Him. Sometimes it is a case of stepping out of the boat and saying I believe that you will keep me walking on water!
What about expectations in our personal, private lives?
If you want to talk about personal things, then the Lord, I believe, wants us to be Holy. Just as he is Holy! You say to me, “I struggle with anger!” or “I struggle with lust”. I would say to you. Bring it before Jesus, be open, be honest. If you want to be Holy then it can be done only in His strength. The only way we can change ourselves is by giving up. Give it to Jesus. Bono (my favourite rockstar) says this, “, It is impossible to meet God without abandon, without exposing yourself, being raw.”
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Interview
Deeper: The Backstory
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.92″ background_layout=”light”]
Do you feel like God’s expectations are too big?
So I believe that God never gives us challenges too big that we can’t handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). Having said that I don’t think they are easy. As with anything, the more you work at it the easier it becomes. Likewise the more we spend time with the Lord talking with Him, listening to Him, Loving Him and worshipping him. This doesn’t make dealing with what God expects of us any easier, it just means we a better equipped.
How do you know God’s expectations for you?
As a general rule I would quote Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand findeth to do, do it with all your might”, and Proverbs 6:6 (New Living Translation), “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!”. These were both written by the same author. There seems to be an emphasis on being excellent in all we do. So that is the first thing I think we can tie that into specific gifts too. Jesus gave a parable about the gifts he gives to you and me. Those who took what Jesus gave them, worked on them and improved were given more and the Lord was pleased with them.
So the question is what gifts has the Lord given you to work on and invest in? Do you even know? If not ask him! Then there is specific direction. The type of thing I mentioned in my story. We might have the tendency to want God to give us clear direction for our lives or in a specific situation. I believe He gives both, and if we listen we will hear Him. However, he has given us all we need to press on and live a life glorifying to Him. Sometimes it is a case of stepping out of the boat and saying I believe that you will keep me walking on water!
What about expectations in our personal, private lives?
If you want to talk about personal things, then the Lord, I believe, wants us to be Holy. Just as he is Holy! You say to me, “I struggle with anger!” or “I struggle with lust”. I would say to you. Bring it before Jesus, be open, be honest. If you want to be Holy then it can be done only in His strength. The only way we can change ourselves is by giving up. Give it to Jesus. Bono (my favourite rockstar) says this, “, It is impossible to meet God without abandon, without exposing yourself, being raw.”
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