02/09/2019
Do you put your trust in the council of God? Do you ask once, twice, or every time a decision needs to be made? So often we attempt to face life alone, and when our plans don’t go as expected we cry out “Lord, how could you allow this to happen!” The depth of your faith is gauged not in fathoms, but in trust.
“And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, "You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines." And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.”
2 Samuel 5:23-25 ESV
David stood consistently before God asking guidance. Even in this situation when a king might have felt victory was assured, and the temptation was great to go it alone, David asked for the wisdom and guidance of God. When we ask for the Lord’s guidance our success is certain, but when we lean on our own understanding and devices... the outcome becomes uncertain.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
1 John 5:14-15 ESV
I had coffee this week with a wonderful young woman who was making a career choice. The decision boiled down to one of family versus career. She was already in prayer, and asking God what she should do, and by the time we sat down together the Lord had given her the answer... it was the same one I heard as I prayed in intercession for her. In this situation she had already received instruction and acted upon it, she had decided to do exactly what God had told her, and was going to remain where she was currently employed. This is how David behaved... he trusted in God enough to listen, and then to obey. David asked what God would have him do... he did not ask for his own will to be done.
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
James 4:3 ESV
There have been times in my life when I have wanted something very badly, and because of this I went to the Lord in prayer and asked that it specifically be done... not whether it was God’s will for me to have this, but that He provide me with the object of my will. Then each time He answered to the contrary, I asked Him to change His mind. Have you been in this situation in your life; not asking what is God’s will for you, or for His plan, but asking instead for what you want? Well it’s perfectly alright to make your desires known to God, but then still yourself and listen for His response, His instruction. Jesus taught us to pray this way...
“Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:9-10 ESV
When His time was drawing near, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, and as He prayed, the man in Jesus wanted to avoid the cross so badly that He began to sweat blood as He was praying; He was wrestling with the question of God’s will versus His own. Sometimes God’s will is hard, and can even be painfully so, but ultimately it is perfect... the suffering of Christ ended, death and sin were defeated and Jesus ascended victorious into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, where He provides signs. God’s will for Him was good!
“So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.”
Mark 16:19-20 ESV
When we ask that God’s will be done, and listen as He tells us what He would have us do, then, although the road ahead might be rough, it will most certainly end well for us. We like to quote a specific verse of scripture...
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
As we interpret this scripture we are tempted to think it means that all things will be good, but that isn’t what it says... it says all things “will work together” to produce good. There will be hard, and sometimes bad things in life, but God uses them equally to bring about the good he has promised us. We can see today clearly, but the Lord knows the beginning from the end, and His will for us is ultimately good... despite the pain and suffering of today, and perhaps into the foreseeable future, His will for us is good. In this we must trust, and our prayers should always be for God’s will to be done.
How do you pray today? Whose will do ask to be done? Do you seek what is easy, what is painless and comfortable, or do you pray for what God desires... our ultimate good? Do you trust His council?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for hearing my prayers, and for answering me as I pray. I thank you Lord for the good that your will has in store for me, and for the trust I have in it, and in your council. Hear me Heavenly Father and give me the faith and courage I need to not only hear your will, but to obey it. Let the blood I sweat as I face the hardships before me, be wiped from my brow, and replaced by your goodness, mercy, and joy. Help me to overcome my vanity and self-confidence Merciful Father as I seek out your council in all my decisions... the large and small, the easy and hard; help me especially to ask that your will be done, and not my own. Give me the obedience needed to remain in your will always, and to take the path you lay before me... even when it leads me through the valley of the shadow of death. Show me Gracious Father that not all the good you have for me is revealed here on earth, but that often it awaits me in heaven... it comes as I sit at your table. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who hears my prayers, answers in His will, and makes all things to work together for good. Praised be your name, even in the suffering storm that comes before the glory of your light.
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,”
Colossians 1:9 ESV
Rich Forbes