Thy Will Be Done

In my last four posts, I talked about quieting our minds as we enter a time of prayer and devotion, getting prepared for our time with Jesus, expecting God to respond when we pray, and how to be persistent and consistent in our prayer and devotional life. This week we will talk about why we should obey. some of the barriers to obeying we face and how to overcome them, so that we might have a closer relationship with Jesus.

Why do we obey?

Today we will move on to the last post of this series, being willing and ready to act when God speaks. God is not a passive God; he needs a response. When Jesus came, He did not just come to bring, love and peace but, to do so, by changing the hearts and minds of people. The key word is change.

In Matthew Jesus says “Therefore anyone that hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7:24) Those who hear God’s words must do something with what they hear, or it is a waste of time and is no good to them. “But those who hear these words of mine and does not put them into practice is a foolish man.” (Matthew 7:26) God does not speak for no reason, when he speaks, he wants us to act.

I wish I could tell you that every time God has told me something I am cheerful and at once did it, but that would be a lie. There have been plenty of times I drug my feet, doubted, and complained. One time in recent memory comes to mind as I write this.

Every other Sunday my husband and I have his children and they go with us to church. Dear sisters, I wish I could say I have always had a good attitude about this, but I can’t tell you honestly. I know that God has asked me to help point my step-children to God when they are with us, but sometimes my frustration gets the better of me and I get grumpy.

I love these children as my own. However, when it comes to getting them out the door on Sunday morning, they turn into creatures that make me question that love, briefly. There have been many Sundays when I walk into church grumbling to myself. What I can tell you is that one Sunday God finally got a hold of me, and my attitude changed drastically.

On this particular Sunday, we were having a rough morning. The kids were both upset about different things and acting out. I and my husband had reached our limit. I sat pouting in my chair as the kids made a scene and my husband tried to restore order.

As church began Pastor Steve got up to the pulpit and told a story about his father, which changed how I look at obedience and living a holy life.

Pastor stood up and told the congregation about a woman, at a church he pastored previously, who had a group of unruly sons. One Sunday a boy ran out into the parking lot and almost got hit by a car. The driver of the car jumped out of her car, out of fear, she yelled a cruel remark, upsetting the boy.

 In contrast to the fearful woman, Pastor Steve’s father helped the woman collect the boys and showed love to them. The story concluded with the boy much later in life confiding to Pastor Steve, that his dad was the reason he stayed in church and later went to work in ministry.

For one there are few things more beautiful to me than seeing people commit their whole lives to God and working in ministry. Also, I felt God telling me that He has a perfect plan for everyone. For every situation we come to; God has a plan for it. The big and small acts are all important. Whether you are like Pastor Steve’s father, a railroad detective, who showed love to rowdy boys, a pastor, or a disabled stepmom.

Any fiction writer will tell you that weaving a deeply intricate story, with multiple characters and problems, is quite a complicated process. How much more complicated are real lives and stories with all our small details weaving together. Yet, God has written each of our stories. He is aware of each detail of our lives. God has already made beautiful and perfect stories for each of us. So long as we are willing Him to let Him work in our lives, He’s willing to write our story. I promise if you let God weave your story it will be grander than anything you could have imagined.

As it started to sink in, I realized that Jesus is truly the king of my life, and he has a perfect plan for me. That, whatever He has planned for me is infinitely better than anything I could have planned for myself. I realized that every interaction I have is an opportunity. A chance to be an instrument for God’s will, His hands, and feet, or it is a chance to be used by the devil to spread anger, frustration, and chaos. I realized I no longer wanted to resist what God had for me. Even when I didn’t understand.

 In Hebrew, the scripture says “[God] Who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus…May He equip you with all you need for doing His will. May He produce in you through the power of Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 13:21) This verse shows that two of the results of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we changed so that we want to please God and He gave us the ability to please him.

These results are part of what Jesus was talking to Nicodemus (John 3:5) about being born again. We cannot please God without God granting us a new heart and mind, through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The power of Jesus’ blood has changed us, so we have the desire to please God and the ability to please Him. We can never please God without Jesus.

What does all this mean? It means that if you have repented and asked Jesus to come and have a personal relationship with you, you can do whatever God calls you to through Christ Jesus.

The fact that you are reading this shows that you have a desire to please God and through Jesus, you can do what God has called you to do. That’s great news. You don’t have to rely on yourself to do the right thing or know the right direction you can rely on Jesus.

In Proverbs says, “Seek His will in all that you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5) When we give our life to God, abdicating our will for His, He will show us exactly where to do. It goes back to giving us the ability to please Him. If we respond to God with a willing changed heart, He will show us how to do.

We have looked at why we should obey God. His will is perfect and much better than anything we could imagine. Now we will move forward and look at some of the barriers to obeying and talk through some solutions.

Barriers

It is one thing to know you should obey, and another thing entirely to do it. As I have talked to in past posts, I grew up in a Christian family. For quite a while I knew what I was supposed to do, but often the barriers the enemy placed in my way tripped me up and I fell short of living an obedient life. So, I am going to talk about some of the barriers I experienced in my life and some of the things the Holy Spirit has taught me about overcoming them.

Fear

The first barrier I want to talk about is fear. I am sure I am not the only one to encounter this nasty fellow. Timothy tells us that “God has not given us a spirit of fear but the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (1Timothy 1:7) The spirit of fear does not come from God, which means it comes from our adversary, Satan.

James tells us to “Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil and he will flee.” To submit to God is to follow His will, to trust Him. So, the best way to fight fear is to do what God wants. To trust Him and step out in faith.

I encourage you to pray to God to show you small steps you can take to start walking in obedience. He will reveal to you what He wants, and He will equip you with what you need. So, trust God and step out in faith.

Jesus teaches us that “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain move from here to there and it would move. Nothing would be impossible with God.” (Matthew 17:20). The best solution to fear is a response of faith.

Standing outside of comfort zone

Sometimes following God’s will looks like standing out. Sometimes God calls us to something that is outside our comfort zone and it’s not always easy to step out of our comfort zone. Sometimes following God will cost us our comfort.

In fact, Jesus promises this “If you were of the world, the world would love you. Yet, because you are not of this world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19) and again Jesus says “. . .In this world, you will have trouble… (John 16:33).

The good news comes in the second part of John 16 “Take heart for I have overcome the world.” We know that there will be troubles and people will not like us because we stand for the Kingdom of Jesus. We don’t have to let that hold us back from answering God’s call.

In 1 Peter scriptures says “Christ suffered here on earth. Now you must be ready to suffer as he did because suffering has shown that you have stopped sinning. It means you have turned from your own desires and want to obey God the rest of your life,” (1 Peter 4:6)

If God calls you to do something that produces earthly suffering and you stay true to your faith, it is a sign that God is working in you removing your sinful, selfish nature and replacing it with an obedient one. Suffering for our faith is something that can inspire confident hope. An external sign of a major internal change, so take heart.

Uncertainty

The last barrier I want to talk about is uncertainty. I contemplated not writing about uncertainty, because it felt like it was too close to fear. As I thought about it though the Lord led me to add it back to the post.

Sometimes when the world around us is turbulent and our legs are shaking it is hard to take steps out in obedience. We are afraid to fall, to fail. I still struggle with this one. One thing I have learned that has helped me conquer this feeling when it creeps up is that failing is not always a sign that you aren’t doing the right thing.

I am guilty of thinking that if I fail it is because I was doing something wrong, but that is not always the case. I always recommend filtering your thoughts through God’s word and prayer. It is possible that you were not doing what God wanted and that is why a venture has failed, but sometimes failure is another tool God uses. We cannot fear failure.

Failure can be a way God teaches us endurance, patience, compassion, and empathy for others. There are so many lessons I have learned from my failure, far more than I have learned from my triumphs. Do not fear failure, but when you do fail, turn to the Lord and let Him teach you.

Conclusion

In our last post in the series, we talked about why we obey. That God has a perfect and beautiful story for each of us. Filled with many moments big and small in which He wants to use us to glorify him. But there is a gap between knowing that you should obey God when he speaks and doing it. These barriers keep us from walking closely in obedience to Jesus.

This week think about this question, pray, and ask God to help you with the barrier that keeps you from walking in obedience to God:

• What Barrier do I struggle with in obeying God?

• What are some steps I could take to step out in faith, instead of walking in fear?

• What is God asking you to do (attitude change, service, talk to a friend or neighbor, etc.)?

I would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out in the comments below, on social media, or email me at EmilyB@moreofjesusplease.com.