03/12/2018
Satan would have you think that obeying God’s will means that yours must be destroyed, and that you must become some kind of automaton to God. He would have you think that if you are in God’s will then yours has been done away with. This couldn’t be further from the truth; your will is valued by the Lord. He desires your obedience to His Will and plan for you, but that obedience must come by choice, and in concert with your own. Jesus chose to do God’s will.
“saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."”
Luke 22:42 ESV
We are creatures that were formed with a will. At birth we each contain a measure of will; albeit some are more pronounced, some more subtle, some more devious, and some more unyielding than others, but we all have one. This is what makes us who we are, and forces the conformity of all our other virtues. It is also this will that we must subjugate to God.
Parenting means that we much deal with our children’s will. We are required to teach them obedience without destroying their own self-determination, or who they are. We want them to conform to the overall will of God, society, and our family norms, without extracting the essence of their personality. This requires obedience... not because they agree with everything we are asking, but out of such things as respect, submission to a higher authority, or an understanding of acceptable responses. The Ten Commandments are all about the molding of our will, and provide a framework in which self, and will, must conform themselves. Had God not wanted us to choose He would have simply made us obedient and without a will of our own.
Yes, Jesus had a will (“not my will, but yours, be done."); it was His own, and unique from God’s. He, like us, was required to choose, and to either conform to those things that the Father willed for Him, or to refuse, and separate Himself from His Father. In this way He could be tempted...
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
Matthew 4:1 ESV
Jesus resisted temptation; His Will remained subject to God’s. There is no place in scripture where it is written that Jesus disobeyed God, or chose anything other than submission to God’s will. Oh that we would always conform in like manner.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV
We are thinking, reasoning, and fully capable of self-determination, but God asks that we conform ourselves to those things He would have us do... His will. He will instruct us. This is just as we should instruct our children, and there are negative consequences to disobedience...
“to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.”
Romans 2:7-8 ESV
So because we have a will, and it is unique, we must choose. Do we conform ourselves to the will of God? As we determine our direction in life, does God’s will decide that path, or do we lean on our own self-will to rule over us? I don’t know the origin of the quote, but it applies here...”We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.” but it seems to apply here. Let your faith dominate your will. Let the example the Jesus set for us lead to obedience to God’s will in our lives.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”
Romans 12:2-3 KJV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your will and plan for my life. I thank you for the perfection of your will in me, and the instruction I receive through faith in conforming to it... in obeying you. Keep me from temptation Father, but if it be your will that I should be tempted then give me the strength in you to resist that temptation, and adhere to your desire for my life. Holy Father I realize that there will be times when you will ask me to do things that I don’t understand, and that I disagree with because of my short sightedness, but in those times give me the faith to adhere to your will based on my trust in your goodness. Gracious Father, let your will guide me always. Great are you Holy Father, and great is your plan for my life, and praised be your name always!
Rich Forbes