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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

God's Will Be Done

     The other night I was reading my Bible. For the first time in... a long time, probably months. I had no idea where to start, what book would best bring the knowledge I was searching for, so I ended up (as I usually do) in Psalms. It may be the poetic, musical quality, or the way I feel akin to David a lot of times, but Psalms always reaches the deepest in me. I browsed for a while, not stopping too long on any one passage, when finally a verse caught me. Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." I read and re-read the words a few times, pondering their meaning, soaking it in. They gave me a reason to rest, to stop the worry.
      Then I started thinking...  why is it so hard to say "Your will be done Lord"? Hold on, rewind. Maybe I should ask first, do any of you also have a hard time saying this? I have realized very recently that when I pray or talk to God at all, generally I am asking for strength, peace or comfort. Sometimes I ask for healing or courage for a friend or family member and often I am just saying a simple, heartfelt thanks for whatever good thing has arisen or burden has been lightened. But rarely (read "never") do I say directly to the Lord "Your will be done". What is so scary about these simple words?
      I have a theory:
I am selfish. Close-minded. Stubborn. Scared of being challenged. Mistrusting of His plan. If I "give in" and let God do what He wills, I am opening up to more hurt, more challenge and less time in my comfort zone.

      
I know in my head that I can trust my Lord because He is the One all-knowing, all-loving King of Kings. I know His plan is best and I cannot fathom how great, wonderful and all-encompassing it is. I know... but I still doubt, am weak and want easy answers. Lord I believe, please help my unbelief.

2 comments:

  1. You're not alone. I think if any believer was truly honest they would admit to the same struggles. At least at certain times in their lives. I know I struggle with saying, "Thy will be done" because I'm already struggling to cope with what is going on in our life right now, much less Kim's diseases getting worse. One of the things that has helped me recently was from a book by Christian author Jerry Bridges. Basically he says that when we are faced with trials or sufferings and we try and stand back and look at the big picture of what may happen, that we become overwhelmed. The reason is because God never promises all the grace that we will need to face our trials at the beginning. No, He gives us grace for every day and the grace He gives is sufficient for that day. Tomorrow will bring new trials or joys and new praises or grace that we will need to get through. Anyway, that has been a little bit helpful for me. Yes, be prudent and realistic and plan for the future and be aware of what we might be facing, but rest simply in the grace that He provides today. I think that learning to do that helps tremendously in increasing our faith and helping us to continue to pray for His will to be done. The reason it is so incredibly hard is because we have "kill" our selfish wants and desires in order to see that His blessings are far greater. Saying "no" to ourselves is the hardest thing. Every Blessing. Matt 6:25-34

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  2. I feel the same way and do the same things all too often! It IS just plain scary to surrrender all and say "You know what God, have Your way!" So hard... I'm in the same boat with you there. Read Mark 11:22-25. I am blown away by that passage. God's greatest blessings to you, my dear friend! Xo!

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