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Why do we pray “Thy will be done”? The short answer is simple…because Jesus told us to, but isn’t God going to act according to His will and purpose anyway? Scripture tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8), good (Psalm 136:1), holy (Isaiah 43:15), and just (Deuteronomy 32:4). If these things describe God, then it would be completely out of character for Him to act in a manner that is contradictory. Daniel tells us, "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons;He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him. (Daniel 2:20-22) This good God who spoke the universe into existence in Genesis 1 called all that He made good. The world He created was good and perfect and we should be reminded daily that it was Adam (mankind) that ushered in chaos.
If you look at how Jesus teaches the disciples to pray in Matthew 6, every element of that prayer is completely focused upon God and who He is. He is our Father. He is Holy. Heaven and earth are His kingdom. He is the provider. He is the merciful judge. He is the protector. That prayer highlights the majesty of our creator and just how dependent upon Him we are and how utterly lost we would be without Him. I believe the phrase “Your will be done” is better understood from the words of Jesus in Matthew 26. While in Gethsemane He prays 3 times, “if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” and the passage culminates with, “the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Jesus knew what lay before Him on the cross, and this is one of the places I believe that the humanity of Jesus is put on display for our benefit. After He prays 3 times for any possible avoidance of what is to come, He finishes the statement with, “yet not as I will, but as You will.” Our problem when we pray is that we have a limited point of view. Many times, we rob the Almighty of His rightful spot on the throne of our hearts. Most of our prayers are extremely self-centered. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a bad thing to pray for blessings and good things to come our way. But when God acts in a way that doesn’t line up with what we petition for, what is our response? We say things like, “God didn’t answer my prayers” or “I must not have had enough faith.” God answers our prayers; the answer just isn't what we pray for sometimes. What I ask you to consider is this: Usher in the Kingdom of God by bringing your will in line with His. When proclaiming that the Lord’s will be done, ask Him to bring your wants, desires, thoughts, and purposes into perfect union with His. Let Him change your perspective. Allow yourself to step back from the situation and for the Spirit to open your eyes to what God is doing. This has definitely been a struggle for me during this time of house hunting. It is easy to get discouraged, but when I step back and take a look, I know that the Lord is taking care of my family. His timing is perfect and how stupid would I be to assume I know what’s best for me! Philippians 2:13 - “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
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Uriah is participating in mini-4H this year; he decided he wanted to do woodworking for his project. This has been a learning experience for me as much as for him. I am striving as best as I can to let this be his project, while helping him learn to do things he has never done before. I am learning to accept less than perfect work, if it is work that he is content with.
For example, he is building a tool box, and decided that he wanted to stain and varnish it. We were trying to teach him how to stain, demonstrating that one uses a piece of cloth and wipes it on in thin layers. He decided that he didn’t want to do it that way; it would be better using a foam brush and putting it on extra thick. We told him what would be best, but he decided that doing it his way would be better. As Lindsay and I talked, she pointed out the obvious to me…this is exactly what we do to God. Though, it is a bit different, because as a father, I am not all-knowing and perfect. Still, this helps me to better understand my relationship with God. While I would like Uriah to do perfect, I don’t love him any less because of the flaws in his project. However, I hope that as he sees the other projects, and reads the judges’ critiques that it will motivate him to strive to follow the directions more closely in the future. All of this helps me to process God’s view of humanity. His loving words, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11). And, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.” (1 Samuel 12:20). May we live in the truth that our mistakes do not change God’s love for us. And may we learn from our mistakes and allow them to propel us to more precise faithfulness. Blessings, Kevin Hello everyone. I hope that all is well with you today. My goodness! I can’t believe that we are now at the end of July and summer is almost over. School will be starting soon and the summer chaos will be coming to a close. And those of us with kids...it’s time to get back in that daily routine of the everyday life. So what do you have planned for this fall, the months to follow, and the years after that? I know that is a tough question because I’m lucky to know what I’m doing tomorrow. But planning for our future is something we should all be doing, especially since we cannot live in the past. So what are you planning for in your future?
Our future is whatever we make of it. If we plan accordingly then things have a good chance of working out. But if you don’t…well, that will be a choice you have to make. Retirement is a word that I’ve heard for a long time. And many people I know have retired from their place of employment over the years. I know that many, if not most, of them have worked extremely hard to get to that point. I’ve heard it talked about almost like a goal. We want to work so many years so we can retire, but for what? What is the purpose of retiring? Or why do we want to retire? Is it because we are tired and don’t want to do that work anymore or is it because we are unable? Or maybe it’s because we’ve been asked to. Either way retirement is something we will all face, but not necessarily from our jobs here on earth. Our employer here on earth may change and what we do may change in some ways. But God has given us all a task to do. And according to Matthew 28 we are to be making disciples. Not just going to church once a week…not just giving your tithe of 10%…not just volunteering for an hour or two each week. But in making disciples. That is something that you do not retire from on this earth. Retirement from disciple making is death and since you are reading this, I assume you're not dead yet. So my question to you is this: Who are you discipling? Or who are you leading to the Lord? It doesn’t matter where we work here. What matters is if you are working for the Lord while you are here. If you are working for the Lord then your retirement is going to be a awesome one where pain, sickness, and death do not even exist. If you neglect working for the Lord here then your retirement from this earth is NOT going to be a pleasant one. Luke 13:24-28 says, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But I will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth…” So, are you planning for your retirement wisely? Derrick <>< |
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