Not My Will but Your Will Be Done

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Back in the day, the only times that most people studied God’s Word was on Sunday in church. Studying and meditating on scriptures was the preacher’s job, they thought. We’ve come a long way since then. Not only does life seem to move at an accelerated pace, but our problems and issues are more complex than ever. It’s only logical that our need for wisdom and guidance would increase as well. God’s Word is always the answer for our dilemmas. In Proverbs 4:7 (KJV), He tells us, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” We’re not only to seek His wisdom, but also make sure that we understand it. There can be no doubt that God wants a people that are sharp when it comes to knowing who He is, what He’s provided for them, and what He requires them to do.

WHO HE IS
In the Book of Exodus, the bible tells us that God chose Moses to lead the Children of Israel out of bondage. They had been enslaved in Egypt under the horrific and oppressive rule of Pharaoh. Heavenly Father spoke to Moses from a bush that continually burned. This must have blown his mind at first, because there was nothing around to start the fire or keep it burning. And even more astounding was that the bush was not consumed by the fire. Our God truly is a consuming fire, and we can only imagine how spectacular it must have been for Moses to be in proximity to God’s glory in this way. Moses couldn’t get too close to it. Had he done so, his physical body might not have been able to handle it, or perhaps he might have been too curious about the sight of glory and not paid enough attention to the Words God would speak from it. Whatever the case, Moses came close enough to take in the splendor and directive of our awesome Father.

When Moses received his directive from the Lord, he was intimated by the task and had a few questions. Anticipating how he might be received by the Children of Israel, in Exodus 3:13-14(NLT), Moses said, “13 If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.” In Revelation 1:11, God tells us that He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. We also learn in Psalm 62:11 that all power is in His hands. These scriptures tell us all that we need to know about God’s sovereignty, intelligence, and power, but equally important is to know His nature.

WHAT HE’S PROVIDED
1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. His very nature is love. Verse 16 of the same chapter tells us that we can know and rely on the love God has for us, because He’s love. Whoever lives in love will live in God, and He will also live in us. Talk about love, this is it magnified to the nth degree and taken to infinity. His love for us is unconditional and it never ends. In Jeremiah 29:11(NLT), Heavenly Father spoke to His people and told them about His plan. He has the very same plan for us living today. He said, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” As born-again Christians, we must always keep this in the forefront of our minds. Because He loves us and we can count on His love, we can also take comfort in the good plan God has for each of us. His desire is that we all live a more than abundant life.

Years ago, many Christians were not convinced of this. They didn’t believe that God wanted them to live a long, prosperous life, and prefaced even living to see another day with “If it be God’s Will.” This sounds very religious and pious, but it is in no way aligned with the promise God has made to give us a future and a hope. God’s Will is God’s Word. If He gives us a promise in His Word, it’s ours. We can take it to the bank, so to speak.

Romans 8:32(NIV) says, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Heavenly Father didn’t just talk about how much He loves us, He demonstrated it through His Son, Jesus Christ. He told us in John 10:10 that he came that we might have life and have it more than abundantly. This is what God has provided for His children, and we should show our gratitude every day that He’s provided us the privilege to walk in His divine Will.

WHAT HE REQUIRES
You might be thinking, “I know lots of Christians that have great need. It doesn’t look as if they are living an abundant life, so what gives?” In Hebrews 11:6, God tells us that it is impossible to please Him without faith, because when we come to Him we must believe that He exists, and that He’s a Rewarder to those of us who diligently seek Him. Faith is the response of gratitude for all that God has done for us. It is not subject to our whims. We can’t simply say that we believe something, and not be willing to back it up. James 2:26 tells us that faith without works is dead. So we need to believe and trust God, and we also must understand that love requires us to back up our believing with loving action.

God wants His Will to go forth in our lives because His Will is extraordinarily awesome. His love is not stagnant, unproductive, and ineffective; and He doesn’t want us to be either. His Will is that we surrender and release anything that causes us to miss all the good things He’s planned for us, and that we begin to walk with confidence on His promises. His will not forsake or disappoint us, and He will back His Word in our lives, because His Will causes all things to work together for our good. ■

4TheChristianMan

Christian encouragement and inspiration for men

Not My Will but Your Will Be Done

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