I wrote this for Deeper Water's Ministry Blog as well. It's a piece on the book, The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith.
I remember, even though I was a
small child, sitting through our annual summer revivals – the church would be
packed for the week long visit from a traveling evangelist. Women with hats
bobbing and swaying to the rhythmic sound of the minister’s hoop as he crescendos
to a close usually centered around the fact that Jesus was coming back and
soon…Then, the alter call. And
tearfully, grown men and women would head toward the outstretched hand of the
minister warning against eternity outside of God’s grace. These conversion
stories always moved me. Lost sons and daughters redeemed by a loving Savior.
But not me. I got saved when I was 5 years old.
Which is code for: I did all my sinning while I was saved. My biggest obstacle in this journey has
not been giving my life to Christ. That was a done deal from very early on. My
difficulty, as is the title and theme of Chapter 7, was in submitting my will
to His. Particularly, I think, for women who are raised in this day and age and
kind of groomed to achieve and dream big dreams of what we want for our lives,
this can be a challenge.
I remember adults
asking me my entire youth what I wanted to do when I grew up. They encouraged me to follow my heart
when it came to decisions about where I’d go to college, or what career I’d
pursue or who I would marry. And
for so long I got stuck there trying to follow My heart and My dreams. And when I prayed, it wasn’t “Thy will
be done” it was always, “Lord please let My will be done.“
Whitall
Smith says “It is not the feelings of the man God wants, but the man
himself.”*** And thankfully, He pursues us relentlessly so that we are not left
to our own devices and limited to the smallness of our dreams. God has exceedingly abundantly more
than we could ask or think waiting for us when we release our will and embrace
His will. But often we’ve worked
so hard for our dreams and waited so long for our plans that we don’t want to
give them up. Especially for His will which may not be what we had in mind, or
worse, an undisclosed will that requires us to wait and just trust in His
plan. Ick…Waiting is the worst!!!
Yet, God is asking
us to release our plans and like Indiana Jones in the opening scene of Raiders
of the Lost Ark, we approach the alter and instead of trading our will for His,
we bargain, “Lord, I’ll trust you with that, but I’m going to hold on to
this.” And we try to offer the
counterfeit idols of our heart on the alter and fakes are found wanting…the
stone lowers, and a giant rock comes to crush us. Ok, sometimes the giant rock
is actual something else that gets our attention…perhaps an illness or loss…
and when it’s all been stripped away, then He presents His will as an
alternative to the Path of Me.
I realize now there was only ever One way; His way. All other roads were a
distraction. His will is where I
can stop chasing my plans and rest in the knowledge that I am walking in the
good deeds He set in advance for me to do. Daily dying to my emotions and the lies of the enemy bent on
my distraction and destruction…Daily praying, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be
Done.” Amen
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