As I have been reading through the gospels I am so humbled by Jesus' response to dying. Over and over He says not my will, but my Father's; I am here to do the work the Father has sent me to do. Jesus knew what was ahead of Him at the cross. He knew He would die a sinner's death, but it wasn't nails that held Him, it was His Father's will and His LOVE for us. This was God's redemption plan for His people. The only way we could be called Sons and Daughters of the Most High God is if a Spotless Lamb died in our place.
I am a person who likes to plan and be in control, but during the past two years and through a series of events I have had to bow my knee and say to my Father, "Not my will but yours be done." This has been a real stretching time for me, but it has also been a time of so much growth in my personal life and in my relationship with God.
The latest event for me and my family is after 18 months of house shopping we are in the process of buying a house! YAY!! The last month has been filled with excitement, joy, uncertainty, fear and even a few whys (ok, well maybe a lot of whys). During these 18 months we have looked in 7 different cities and for the last 4 months we have been looking in one specific city. Well, now we are buying in a different city and about 4 months ago this was the same city I said I didn't want to live in. Some of you may be asking, "Well then why are you buying a house there?" Because it goes back to "Not my will but yours be done." With that being said, we believe whole heartily that this is the house the Lord has for us. Our new house is more that I could imagine and I know the Lord has plans for us in the neighborhood He is putting us in, but let's just say it was not my first choice or my second or even my third of places to live.
We have talked with many people about where we are moving to and we keep hearing "that's a great neighborhood" or "that's a nice area". I smile and say "oh that's good to hear" but deep down I keep thinking what did we do? Why are we moving there? Maybe we heard God wrong?
During one my quiet times last week the Lord spoke, "So this isn't exactly what you thought it would look like, so what are you going to do about it?" I felt like He gave me 3 options:
1) Plant your feet and disobey
2) Go limp and let Me drag you there while your heart goes hard and you miss the WHY
3) Go with an expectant heart and allow Me to show you the WHY
The closer we get to the "Big Move" the more I feel this move is His way of asking "Is it really My will that be done or is it yours?"
With that question lingering in the back of my mind I reread Jesus' responses to the cross before Him...Luke 22:42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done."Jesus knew what was before Him AND He still submitted to the Father's will.
Now in NO way am I comparing our move to Jesus' death, (those two things are not even comparable) but what moves my heart is Jesus' response. His response to His Father's will is, well...INCREDIBLE and so full of LOVE for His Father and for us. With Jesus as my example I want to have His obedience! I want to submit to my Heavenly Father the way Jesus did! I want to say "Not mine but Your will be done" and mean it EVERY TIME!
So I choose option 3. I will go with an expectant heart and allow God to show me the WHY.
How do you handle situations that come up that don't look like you thought they would? Are you willing to let God's will control your life? Are you willing to say "Not mine, but your will be done" and MEAN it?
Jesus did and because of His obedience I have the gift of grace and eternal life, you have the gift of grace and eternal life, we all have the gift of grace and eternal life.
John 3:16-17 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
