Reason #913
I want to be in God's will. Sometimes I want it more than others, but I have learned that being in God's will is a really good place to be. It might look different than yours, and it might look different than expected, but there's such a peace when you're in God's will. When you're delighting yourself in Him rather than chasing your fleshly desires and wants, life works better. I didn't say easier, I said better. For some reason we've grown to believe that easier is better, but that's far from the truth. Being in God's will isn't always easy, but being in God's will is the safest, best, most productive place to be.
It's hard when your will doesn't match up with God's. And maybe, like me, you've prayed that it would. That somehow He would really consider your ideas and give into them. Possibly, He might change His mind. But the thing is, He has considered your ideas and the reason He hasn't made your will His will is because it's not the best thing for you. I know, you might be wondering how in the world your current state is the best thing for you, but you only see part of the picture. You only know a fraction of what He does, and you certainly don't know what lies ahead. But God does. He knows the full picture, and He knows what is next. And so His will is based off of that. Of off what He has in store for you. Off of His perfect plan. And so, if you're like me, I've had moments in life where I really wondered how to tell whether or not I was in God's will.
"Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to rule over Israel in the twenty-third year of King Joash’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria seventeen years. But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Ben-hadad to defeat them repeatedly. Then Jehoahaz prayed for the Lord’s help, and the Lord heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. So the Lord provided someone to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Arameans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days." - 2 Kings 13:1-5
I don't know what evil things Jehoahaz did, but he knew what he did. You know what it is that you do, too. You know full well when you do things that don't honor the Lord. Old Testament people weren't any different than us. And so Lord got mad about it. God doesn't take sin and the disobedience of His children lightly. He hates sin, so this should be no surprise to us. When someone wrongs you, you aren't too happy about it, are you? And so Jehoahaz stepped out of God's will and things didn't go well. The moment he followed his own desires and began to do the things that God didn't call him to do, the Lord allowed him to be defeated. The truth of the matter is, sin is quite hard to overcome without God's help. And if we relentlessly run in the opposite direction, God can't help us out until we ask for it. After all, even if He tried, we probably wouldn't let Him because that would be interfering with our will. We want what we want, and unfortunately, there can be many damaging side effect when we choose our own path over God's.
Yet God has been gracious with His people from day one, and when Jehoahaz realized living in defeat and oppression was no way to live, he called out to God for help. How loving is God to accept us and help us even when we've purposefully turned our back on Him? And so He heard the prayers for help. He saw the mess Johoahaz was in, and God rescued him. God delivered him and not just out of the hands of bondage and oppression but to safety. God restored him to the lifestyle they had in former days. To peace, to refuge, to the way God intended for His people to live. But only when Jehoahaz called on God, asking the Lord's will to be done rather than his own, was there peace.
So that's the key, my friends. If you're walking in God's will, you will find peace. That's how you know you're right where you need to be. Sure, it might in the middle of a storm, but you'll have an unexplainable peace. And God will restore you. He will bless you in really wonderful ways. You will find His favor as you continue to move forward. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in peace than oppression. I'd rather enjoy refuge than defeat. And the Lord wants good for you. He didn't send His son to die so that you could spend your days on earth miserable and confused. The kicker, however, is that you've got to be the one to decide. Are you going to submit to and follow the Lord's will or are you going to follow your own. He gives you the choice, and the outcome for obedience is of great reward.
Don't overthink it. Don't complicate it. Just ask the Lord, follow His promptings, and if you find peace in your situation, and most importantly, peace in your heart, then you know it's right. God will lead you to it if you're not there, but you have to be willing to follow. And, when you get there, you'll know it. Not only that, but you'll be glad to be there.
#913 - Because He doesn't overcomplicate it.
"You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." - Psalm 16:11
It's hard when your will doesn't match up with God's. And maybe, like me, you've prayed that it would. That somehow He would really consider your ideas and give into them. Possibly, He might change His mind. But the thing is, He has considered your ideas and the reason He hasn't made your will His will is because it's not the best thing for you. I know, you might be wondering how in the world your current state is the best thing for you, but you only see part of the picture. You only know a fraction of what He does, and you certainly don't know what lies ahead. But God does. He knows the full picture, and He knows what is next. And so His will is based off of that. Of off what He has in store for you. Off of His perfect plan. And so, if you're like me, I've had moments in life where I really wondered how to tell whether or not I was in God's will.
"Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to rule over Israel in the twenty-third year of King Joash’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria seventeen years. But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Ben-hadad to defeat them repeatedly. Then Jehoahaz prayed for the Lord’s help, and the Lord heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. So the Lord provided someone to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Arameans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days." - 2 Kings 13:1-5
I don't know what evil things Jehoahaz did, but he knew what he did. You know what it is that you do, too. You know full well when you do things that don't honor the Lord. Old Testament people weren't any different than us. And so Lord got mad about it. God doesn't take sin and the disobedience of His children lightly. He hates sin, so this should be no surprise to us. When someone wrongs you, you aren't too happy about it, are you? And so Jehoahaz stepped out of God's will and things didn't go well. The moment he followed his own desires and began to do the things that God didn't call him to do, the Lord allowed him to be defeated. The truth of the matter is, sin is quite hard to overcome without God's help. And if we relentlessly run in the opposite direction, God can't help us out until we ask for it. After all, even if He tried, we probably wouldn't let Him because that would be interfering with our will. We want what we want, and unfortunately, there can be many damaging side effect when we choose our own path over God's.
Yet God has been gracious with His people from day one, and when Jehoahaz realized living in defeat and oppression was no way to live, he called out to God for help. How loving is God to accept us and help us even when we've purposefully turned our back on Him? And so He heard the prayers for help. He saw the mess Johoahaz was in, and God rescued him. God delivered him and not just out of the hands of bondage and oppression but to safety. God restored him to the lifestyle they had in former days. To peace, to refuge, to the way God intended for His people to live. But only when Jehoahaz called on God, asking the Lord's will to be done rather than his own, was there peace.
So that's the key, my friends. If you're walking in God's will, you will find peace. That's how you know you're right where you need to be. Sure, it might in the middle of a storm, but you'll have an unexplainable peace. And God will restore you. He will bless you in really wonderful ways. You will find His favor as you continue to move forward. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in peace than oppression. I'd rather enjoy refuge than defeat. And the Lord wants good for you. He didn't send His son to die so that you could spend your days on earth miserable and confused. The kicker, however, is that you've got to be the one to decide. Are you going to submit to and follow the Lord's will or are you going to follow your own. He gives you the choice, and the outcome for obedience is of great reward.
Don't overthink it. Don't complicate it. Just ask the Lord, follow His promptings, and if you find peace in your situation, and most importantly, peace in your heart, then you know it's right. God will lead you to it if you're not there, but you have to be willing to follow. And, when you get there, you'll know it. Not only that, but you'll be glad to be there.
#913 - Because He doesn't overcomplicate it.
"You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." - Psalm 16:11
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