For thought and meditation

[rl69]

Then Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her.—Luke 1:38 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=87bc0a4969&e=3dd732485b)Many times, we wonder what the will of God is for our lives. Let me suggest that you simply say, "Lord, I am willing to obey, even though I don't completely understand what it is that You're asking me to do." That is what Mary did. She didn't fully understand what the angel Gabriel was telling her, but she obeyed just the same. She took a leap of faith. This is the attitude God looks for in His servants: childlike faith and obedience.

The Bible gives us great direction for knowing God's will:


"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1–2).

Notice this passage begins with presenting ourselves to God. It doesn't say, "Find out first what God's will is, and then determine if you want to obey it." Rather, we are to commit ourselves to God. As the J. B. Phillips New Testament puts it, "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good."

First, commit yourself to Him. Then you will know the will of God. We should never be afraid to commit an unknown future to a known God. The condition of an enlightened mind is a surrendered heart.

Maybe the reason we don't know God's will is because we haven't said, "I accept it, and I will obey it." Have you said that to God

[Boaz]

We should die every morning and pick up your cross .

Luke 9;23
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

[Blackwater]

What a wonderful and excrutiatingly poignant lesson! And the hardest one most of us deal with every day, too. We think in our human terms, that it's foolish to set our feet in motion without some good idea of where we're going and what we're going to do. But that's OUR mistake! God rightfully points us to acceptance first, and THEN, gives us the knowledge of what to do and how to go about it. His way never fails if we'll really subject ourselves to His will. Ours very commonly fails, for there are so many unforseen things that can crop up and spoil all our worldly plans.

Once again, man's way seems to fail so often, while God's way produces fruit consistently. And yet, we tend to miss that so very, very often! Maybe there are answers that somewhere deep down inside, we don't really WANT to find? Satan has his claws in all of us, and sometimes in places we aren't fully aware of. And he never tires. Thankfully, neither does our Lord! It's just up to us to choose which path we'll take, at every step of our way today, and for as long as we live.

Thanks for an awesome lesson, RL. You're really hitting your stride with these awesome posts!

[Pine Baron]

"Lord, I am willing to obey, even though I don't completely understand what it is that You're asking me to do."
It really is that simple. Notice I didn't say easy.

[Boaz]

I agree Pine Baron .....You got to think about it .