Expect the Unexpected

Expect the unexpected!


I wonder if any of you have been following the last few games in the race for the Scottish
Premier League football title?

I’m a fan of Rangers Football Club and it’s been quite a roller-coaster season – and especially so in the last few games. Rangers’ great rivals, Celtic, have been going for their fourth championship win in a row and at points during the season have been up to 7 points clear of Rangers and, seemingly coasting for the title.

A few weeks ago, Rangers and Celtic played each other, with the winner taking the advantage in the race for the championship. Rangers came out on top – advantage Rangers. However, during last week a 1-1 draw with Hibernian gave the advantage back to Celtic. All Celtic had to do was win their remaining two games and the title was theirs.

But on Sunday, Celtic could only manage a 0-0 draw with Hibernian. Advantage back to Rangers! Nobody would have believed it possible that Celtic would slip up.
Now we have a nerve jangling final day of the season to see who will finally be victorious.

It got me to thinking that, as a nation, we never expect the unexpected. We always think we know what will lie in wait around the corner. Life has, for many people, become so
well planned and methodical.

In the Church, this is often the case also. We no longer expect anything different from God. And too many of us have become used to decline and a general falling away of the faith in this country. Many see there being no chance of this changing.

How we underestimate God. How little faith we have in a God who can change circumstances with a sweep of His hand, or an outpouring of His Spirit.

We read in Isaiah 43:18, 19 “The Lord says, ‘Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it?”

Whilst our country may seem to be heading down a never-ending tunnel to a God-less eternity, let us have faith enough to believe that God can change the direction our country
is taking. Expect the unexpected, so to speak. And have courage enough to pray for a mighty outpouring of His Spirit in this land to see the unexpected actually come to fruition.


Graeme Parkhill