Amen & Amen!
Do we ever struggle to follow God’s will?
Now, I know, that’s a heavy question, but truly, it’s a question every person alive needs to ask and to seek the truth found in what the Holy Spirit reveals.
God’s Will—
For our career choice.
For a family decision.
For a choice we must make.
For a path we must walk.
For a word we must speak.
For whom we are to love and to marry.
For the way we are to live, breathe, and move—every day.
God’s Will—for me, for you, for every person alive.
As I listened to melodies and spoke with my daughters about decisions they are facing, about struggles they have encountered, and about steps they need to take, I only needed to pause in my thinking and hear a beautiful melody playing in my ears. See some of the words with me. Better yet, pull up YouTube and listen to this wonderful melody. Enjoy.
“What a fellowship, What a joy divine.
What a priceless gift!
God, I’m Yours and You are mine.
Let my restless soul be still and know.
I am leaning on Your everlasting arms. . . .
Feels less like dying and more like living . . . .”
“Leaning” by Matt Maher & Essential Worship
Obedience and Submission are struggles for me.
Standing still, fully trusting the Rock beneath my feet oftentimes is difficult too.
Stepping forward, even when I cannot see where my next step will land is totally hard.
Nevertheless, that is exactly what God asks us to do.
We know He does.
We can read passage after passage of others who obeyed, who submitted, who fully trusted even during difficult days, who stepped forward, even when they were unsure of what the future held.
How can we read these Biblical accounts and believe that God would ask those individuals to do something that He would not also ask of us?
We Cannot!
We Should Not!
No! We Should NOT Ever Seek the Opposite of God’s Will for our lives!
Currently, I have been reading the apostle John’s account of Jesus’ ministry upon earth, seeing how John describes the LOVE of GOD for HUMANITY seen through HIS ONLY SON JESUS CHRIST.
There was a time in history when John stood with two disciples of Jesus, a day when Jesus Himself walked past the three of them:
“And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What are you seeking?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?”
(John 1: 38-39 NASB)
He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day; it was about the tenth hour.”
This conversation was during Jesus’ public ministry, during a time when the first converts were led to follow Jesus in obedience and submission. After that day, one of the men found another man, who found another man, who . . . . Get the picture? One man spoke to another man about Jesus, who spoke to another man, who spoke to another, who spoke to another, who . . . Do we understand the truth found within their example?
“And He said to him, [Jesus said to Nathanael, one of those men who was a bit skeptical about following the Son of Man—Jesus] “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
(John 1: 51 NASB)
God is Truth!
“El Emit” is a Hebrew word that means:
- Confirmed.
- Faithful.
- Reliable.
- Able to be Fully Trusted.
- Sureness.
- Firm like a rock.
- We can stand upon His Word with our full weight.
God is Faithful. The Son of God—Jesus—the Son of Man—Jesus—is Faithful.
“Truly, Truly.”
AMEN! AMEN!
“Obedience is the key to real faith.”—Charles Colson
Do we ever struggle to follow God’s will?
Obedience is when we do what a superior instructs us with something to do.
Submission occurs when we yield to another.
Both are so difficult—here upon earth.
Both can become just as difficult—as we walk in faithfulness to the God we love and follow.
God’s Will—
- Our career choices.
- Our family decisions.
- Our daily choices we must make.
- Our paths we must walk.
- Our words we must speak.
- Who we are to love and to marry.
- How we are to live, to breathe, and to move—every day.
God’s Will—for me, for you, for every person alive.
“What a fellowship, What a joy divine.
What a priceless gift!
God, I’m Yours and You are mine.
Let my restless soul be still and know.
I am leaning on Your everlasting arms. . . .
Feels less like dying and more like living . . . .”
“Leaning” by Matt Maher & Essential Worship
“Living” An Abundant Life—God’s desire for us. Jesus Himself said it was so. He tells us that is why He has come, so we might know HIM! & so we might walk daily with HIM!
Abundant Life begins with Obedience & Submission—With Following Him, Trusting His Guidance.
“The thief [the devil] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.
(John 10: 10-11 NASB)
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”