God, not my will but Yours

Jesus teaches us to pray in Matthew 6: 9-13. It is a short prayer but gives us the relevant ideas of how prayer should be presented in the life of a believer. In the third line, Jesus says, “God, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Most of us ask, “Lord, what’s your will for my life?” And if I like it, then I go forward with it but if it doesn’t align with what I want, well, I need to rethink it. Ultimately, God knows what’s best for us, even when we may not agree with it so we learn two words: trust and faith. Then ask the question, “What do I need to do to find God’s will in my life?”

First, for God’s will to be done, I have to obey his instruction. When my boys where in junior high, I showed them how to mow the yard correctly (at least in my estimation). I took my oldest out and introduced him to the mower and weed eater then showed him how to operate both. I also showed him how to mow straight lines and edge. Then, I turned it over to him. With a couple of turns doing it himself, he got it down.

But the truth is, if I don’t follow God, I’ll never know his will for my life. I’ve got to love God and follow Jesus if I want to be in tune with his will. Jesus was in tune. The night of his arrest, he was praying in the garden. He knew what was needed so that we could be saved. He ultimately asked if there was another way but ended with, “Father, not my will but yours.” Sometimes in our lives, God’s will is not going to be the easiest. But we trust him to take care of us.

Now, to obey God’s instruction, you have to hear his voice. There are so many ways to hear the voice of God. We do in community as we gather on a Sunday morning for Bible class and worship. We can hear his voice through our small group or the ministry group we volunteer in. We can hear his voice by reading the Bible and being in prayer, everyday.

To hear his voice, you have to listen. Samuel was listening in 1 Samuel 3 when he head someone say his name. He thought it was the high priest, Eli and kept going in to ask what Eli was wanting. On the third time, Eli realized Samuel was hearing the voice of God and instructed Samuel that the next time he heard his name to answer, “Speak Lord for your servant hears.” We too have to be attentive all the time as God uses different people and circumstances to get our attention.

So, to be able to listen to God, I must spend time with him. I believe God’s voice is much like a radio, it’s always on. We just need to tune his voice over the noise of our everyday life. To better do that, I must make time everyday, to sit with God and better understand how he’s called me to live.

Ultimately, in order for God’s will to be accomplished in my life, I have to be willing to let go of my will. Paul tells us something extraordinary in 1 Corinthians 2:9. Paul says, “No eye has seen. No ear has heard. What God has in store for those who love him.” Did you get that? God has things for you that you can’t even imagine but you’ll never experience them unless you say “yes” to the plan of God in your life and accepting his will over your own.

God’s will is for you to live with him for ever. That can only happen if you say “yes” to Jesus and follow him in your life. That’s our call…to follow Jesus. Blessings on the journey.

Wait for it.

I can only imagine you had the same difficulties I had growing up. I’m not talking about outdoor plumbing or limited meals or walking to school in the snow up hill both ways…I’m talking about waiting on Christmas morning for your parents to get up! I’d come down early in the morning and look at all the presents. Then, I’d have to sit and wait until my parents got up in order to play with the toys that Santa brought. Waiting is difficult.

I don’t know your current story but my guess is you are having to wait on something and maybe you’ve been waiting for weeks or months or years. Maybe you’ve been waiting on the new career to begin. Or waiting on that promotion that is long overdue. Or waiting on you to be financially right side up again.

Maybe you’ve been waiting on your marriage to be great again. Maybe you’re waiting on Mr. or Mrs. Right to appear. Maybe you’re waiting on your grown children to have a relationship with you again.

It could be you’re waiting on the cancer to go away or the chronic illness to subside or your child to be healthy and happy again. Maybe you’re simply waiting on children to be born.

I don’t know your story, but I bet you’re waiting on something. And some are waiting to hear God speak into their story. You wait and pray and talk to God but there seems no direction from him, no calming presence, no subtle hint that change is coming for the better.

When we read Habakkuk 2 in the Old Testament, we gather a sense of what the prophet did while he was waiting on God. Verse 1 reminds us that he listened to God. Some people can’t stand waiting to hear from God and walk away after the first little bit. But be patient. We must position ourselves in such a way to hear God’s voice speak into our story. So, every day, carve out time to be in his Word and pray. Let his words wash over you and reassure you He is present and has not forgotten you.

Surround yourself with like-minded people. People who will support you and stand with you as you wait. Positive people who will hold your hand during the chaos. God can also use your circumstance to bolster you and create a deeper faith. Equally, you can hear his voice as you sing praises to him or listen to a message from his word. There are so many ways we can truly hear the voice of God in our lives.

Like Habakkuk, we can also write for God. In verse 2, Habakkuk is called to write down what God says. We too can write and journal our experience. Why? Because Satan wants to kill, steal, and destroy everything that God is doing for you. He wants us to forget all the good that God continues to do in our life.

As a child, I was told not to write in my Bible. However today, all the white margins are filled with my notes. As I read, God places things on my heart which I write down. I also use a journal every day to write discoveries in my study time, prayers, and thoughts about my relationship with God.

Lastly and probably the most difficult, I wait on God. Some of you have been waiting on your spouse to come home, your marriage to be strong again, your finances to pan out, your adult children to have a relationship with Jesus, the promotion to come at work, racism to die, the cancer to be gone and the list continues to grow. Waiting is difficult.

But know if it’s not God’s time, you can’t force it. If it is God’s time, you can’t stop it! God has not forgotten you. He sees you, hears your cries, hears your prayers. He’ll never leave you. We, like Habakkuk, can say, “the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20). We can worship God before we see him move in our life. We have faith in his goodness. We rejoice in his salvation. We celebrate that he truly is our Father. Blessings on the journey.