Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done

God’s general will is His Word and knowing the divine wisdom of His knowledge reveals who He is and what He demands from us. You see, no matter what we have been taught, abandoning our will to God is not an option for those who seek to be an overcomer for His glory. I sense a burden this week to talk about the danger of living however we want instead of obeying what God is saying. Jesus is quoted in Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.” Many fail to understand the Bible is not just a dialogue between real people who lived many years ago, but it is also a living revelation meant to speak to the heart of the listener today. The topic of the human will being surrendered to God is the foundation of the Christian life and yet there has never been a more unpopular subject. It’s not a secret that most people want all that God has, but rarely consider what God demands from us.

Though rarely mentioned, our carnal nature is so deceptive and rebellious that it’s common for people to believe that God is not paying attention to what we say or do. The few who become serious and take the time to fast and pray for discernment will discover the sobering truth that our depravity defends disobedience with denial. Our emotions couldn’t care less if we are spiritually wandering out in left field wearing a blindfold as long as our will can remain in control of our decisions.

Adam and Eve chose to live according to their ideas despite God’s warnings and sadly this rebellious attitude is alive and well today and can only be harnessed through continuous spiritual warfare.

Many pray that God will have mercy on them, but invest little effort to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. We want Him to help us and deliver us from our problems, but often are not willing to lay down our will so that we can embrace His. We desire to live independently while proclaiming to be a Christian but fail to comprehend we cannot manage both successfully.

In Matthew 6:24 Jesus plainly said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” A master is anything that enslaves us and when it comes to worldly adoration He uses money as an example of anything that we love more than God. Christ in Luke 6:24 relays a sobering statement about those who refuse to listen to His voice or live by His demands and yet still call Him their Lord. I passed someone on the side of the road yesterday holding a sign that said, “Jesus wants to be your Savior and your Lord.”

Each child of God has been called to do many things and has a unique role to play in His Kingdom. Our gifts, talents, anointing and personalities are all different and He desires to use each one to accomplish His perfect plan. With those who are born again, life has been drastically changed because we are now building from a brand new spiritual blueprint. The plans and desires that we had in our old life may not look anything like what God has chosen for us to do now. The Christian’s call has certain responsibilities and for the rest of our days it is up to us to discover what they mean and how to accomplish them. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God which means we must operate in His strength and attitude for His plans to be successful. Those who attempt to compromise by combining their will with God’s will or to allow denial to lead them into a seemingly innocent rebellion will discover that no matter how excited or diligent they are to execute their goals, things never seem to pan out. Even if they forcefully push them through until they are exhausted from their labors, they are left empty and extremely dissatisfied. Why? Because they have yet to learn that God does not accept or bless our sacrificial offerings if they are given on our terms. Until we remove ourselves from our throne of control, we have not truly yielded our will to Him.

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