Not My Will...

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Jesus' words in Luke 22:42 (NLT)

Far too often we have a tendency to approach the Lord with an agenda - a list of things, or maybe just a thing that we desire from Him, when all that is required to find the perfect answers to our needs... is obedient worship. 

Jesus Himself, pointed this out in Matthew 6 (NLT)

31“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." (emphasis mine)

Take Joshua for example, - the leader that the Lord appointed to lead the children of Israel after Moses' time was finished. He faced a huge responsibility in leading the Israelites. The mantle of leading such a huge number of people and doing it in complete compliance and submission to the Lord was enormous. And he was about to be charged with another task that was humanly impossible - humanly, but not divinely.

The children of Israel were instructed to cross the river Jordan, but it wasn't humanly possible for them. So the Lord stopped the river from flowing so that they could cross the river. It was by seeing this that the Lord exalted Joshua in the eyes of His people as their leader. And what did Joshua do? He reverenced God before them.

19 "The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River. 21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the LORD’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the LORD your God forever.” Joshua 4:19-20 (NLT) 

Joshua had learned from witnessing the interaction between Moses and the Lord and knew where the true strength and supply of Israel was found. And on one occasion the Lord made clear to Joshua that there was no mistaking His status and position among men. What did Joshua do? He reverenced the Lord again...

13 "When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” 14“Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the LORD’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?” 15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told." Joshua 5:13-15

...obedience and worship. 

In truth we worship the Lord God with our lives. We do that when we obediently honor and obey Him - not only acknowledging Him with our mouths, but with the things that we do and  think as well as what we say in accordance with what He's instructed. When we do that, we untie the hands that would bless us to work in amazing ways among us because no good father rewards his children for bad behavior. And Father God.... is the ultimate Father, with a continual desire that we allow Him to bless us..

1"Now the gates of Jericho were tightly shut because the people were afraid of the Israelites. No one was allowed to go out or in. 2 But the LORD said to Joshua, “I have given you Jericho, its king, and all its strong warriors..." Joshua 6:1-2 (NLT) 

The children of Israel had already searched for a way into the city and determined that the walls of Jericho were humanly impenetrable. Conquering the city of Jericho was a humanly impossible task for them, but as they obediently followed what the Lord instructed, the Lord delivered Jericho into their hands as He said He would. It was humanly impossible, but divinely delivered.

Being created human with needs, weaknesses and infirmities was no accident. Our God who is perfect, made man in His image - a reflection of Him, but not a clone of Him. We were perfectly created to be imperfect, but we're also perfectly created to suit His purpose. We're like Him in some ways, but the differences are found in our weaknesses and imperfections. He created us for Himself and in a way that makes us incomplete without Him. Our current weaknesses and imperfections allow our loyalty and obedience to Him to be tested and also give us an opportunity to learn our place beneath Him. We were designed to need Him - as His small children in continual need of their Heavenly Father... 

...and if our pride won't allow us to get past that fact, then we're in real trouble.

The human world we live in relies heavily on what it can prove through science. If it can't be reasoned and substantiated by the determined laws of nature that it's aware of, it can't be believed. But there are two problems I can readily identify: One is that the reasoning of men is as limited and imperfect as they are. And the second is that God alone determines the laws of nature that we witness, but He's not bound by them - He determines them still. His rule, His plans and His will for us are perfect. This doesn't mean that we won't suffer from time to time, but when we do, the perfect answer to our need according to His infinite wisdom, is on the way. We have only to be patient and trust Him.

When we finally give up on the quest to be our own masters and recognize that God alone holds that title - submitting to His sovereign position as Creator and ultimate authority - we'll find our true place as intended and our lives will reflect the benefit of the Fatherly care we were intended to receive as well. Until then, we'll likely be subject to suffer the benefit of our own disobedience and insurrection - while subverting His will and interrupting His plan for our lives to our own detriment.

It's a choice and it's ours...

                      ...Not my will Father - You know best.