“Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy. May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10 NLT)
What we do, in every area of our lives, isn’t nearly as important as why we do it. On some levels it’s similar to – “it’s not what we say, it’s how and why we say it.” It all speaks to motivation. This is a vital consideration that could push us back to the moment of our conception – why did God allow us to have life?
Related to that, we can draw conclusions based on the authority of God’s Word. God is all-knowing, there is literally nothing that escapes His knowledge and complete understanding. Every “discovery” of man simply affirms what God has known forever. It’s never a question of “can it be known,” it’s only a matter of who will be the first to listen closely enough to the all-knowing One to hear His voice and pay attention to His directives.
The point is, there’s an answer to every question and a solution to every problem, we just need to be willing to do the work of listening carefully and being willing to give credit where credit is due. Will is a precarious piece of every person. We’re born with a bent to sin, but we’re also created with eternity in our heart – an awareness that we’re created for far more than what we see, hear, and experience as a member of the human family.
As long as we live there will always be tension between what we want for ourselves and what God wants for us. To the extent we allow the Lord to conform our will to His, the more at peace we’ll be with whatever comes our way, knowing it’s not an accident, that it was allowed by our Savior, and that His intent for us is always for good.
When you think about it, maybe that’s the whole issue. My certainty that I am going to heaven grow’s, not out of any effort on my part, but on my ever-increasing desire to do what God wills for me. It has little to do with my efforts to be accepted, admired, envied, or gain any other human advantage, it grows out of God’s goodness, grace, kindness, and generosity.
Has it ever occurred to you that God wants (wills) for you to be in heaven with Him? Unfortunately, God’s will isn’t always done on earth as it is in heaven. 2 Peter 3:9 reminds us: “The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
That’s the tension created by God’s will and our will. As long as we demand our will, God is a gentleman and will let us have our way; however, when we decide that we want what God wants for us, or, in other words, we desire to allow the Lord to enable us to conform our will to His, there’s a sense in which I/we no longer have a will of our own.
The longer we walk with the Lord the more fully He enables us to only and always want what He wants for us. Why would we ever do that? Because we learn that what God wants/wills for us is ALWAYS, without exception, better than what we desire for ourselves. He always has our best interest at heart, but, in the end it’s our choice – our will or His!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 