God's Will, Not Mine

Chuckle: Eddie's father called up to him, Eddie, if you don't stop playing that trumpet I think I will go crazy!" Eddie replied, "I think you have already, I stopped playing half an hour ago."

Quote: "I was kept fast bound, not with exterior chains or irons, but with my own iron will. The enemy held my will and of it he had made a chain which fettered me fast." --St. Augustine of Hippo

Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, please remove this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine" (Luke 22:42 NLT). Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. . . Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that" (James 4:14-15 NIV)

As we awake each morning and begin to consider the day ahead, I wonder how many of us think to pray for God's will to be done today. As Christians, there are basically three attitudes with which we can meet a new day. We can (1) make our plans for the day and then ask God to bless the plans we have made; (2) we can pray for God to reveal His will and plans for our day with the assurance that He will give us strength and understanding to carry out those plans; or (3) we can ignore God's will and leave Him out of our daily planning altogether.

I've heard somewhere that if you want to make God laugh just tell Him of your plans. Our James passage makes it clear that to make plans without considering and seeking God's will beforehand is a dangerous practice. I'm sad to say, this is a trap that I have fallen into many times in my Christian life. The moment we decide to leave God out of our thoughts, plans, and prayers we are not walking with Him and seeking His will as He desires.

Romans 12:2 (NLT) gives us a formula for knowing and living out God's will. "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is." God has plans for His children that are good, pleasing, and perfect. But to ascertain God's will in all things requires a transformation of our hearts and minds by His Spirit.

We know that God only wants what is best for us and He proved this by giving His only Son to make a transformed life possible. If you have accepted God's free gift of eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, won't you let God transform you into a totally new person by changing the way you think? Then, like Jesus, your primary goal in life will be to know and live by God's will for your life. Agreeing with God in all circumstances will result in a more satisfying and happy life.

Remember this old hymn? "Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mould me and make me After thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still." 

Love, Jerry & Dotse