Your will or His will?

It is funny how God speaks to us at times when it seems strikingly relevant to our current situation.

Every morning I have my "quiet time" to do some reading -- a passage or two from Scripture and daily devotionals from a few books, including Men of Integrity, Grace for the Moment and Wisdom for the Way. I've been through the Scripture and the latter two books numerous times, and each time a devotional I've read in the past speaks to me at a deeper level the second or third time I've read it. Usually this is because of a particular situation I am experiencing at the moment, and the passage strongly relates to that situation.

This happened again this morning. Just this Sunday our Discipleship Bible Study group began an in-depth study of David Platt's book Radical. We are only at the very beginning of the study and yesterday we talked about Jesus' exhortations to surrender everything to follow him. (See Luke 14: 25-33, Luke 9: 57-62 and Luke 18: 18-30, among others). It is a radical and scary concept, especially considering that most of us strive to keep ourselves and families safe, secure and comfortable. We have all bought-into the American Dream wherein material possessions and financial wealth are objects to be pursued and coveted. What if Jesus wants you to not only covet these things less, but actually give most or all of it away?

Here are some excerpts from the devotional I read this morning, which are found in Max Lucado's Grace for the Moment, Volume I:

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"Those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them." -- Luke 17: 33

Jesus says the options are clear. On one side there is the voice of safety. You can build a fire in the hearth, stay inside, and stay warm and dry and safe ...
Or you can hear the voice of adventure -- God's adventure. Instead of building a fire in your hearth, build a fire in your heart. Follow God's impulses. Adopt the child. Move overseas. Teach the class. Change careers. Run for office. Make a difference. Sure it isn't safe, but what is?

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Wow! This is certainly in line with what David Platt is espousing in Radical. Forget the safe and secure and live ... REALLY live ... for Jesus and the Kingdom. Then you will know life in the fullest.

But if this wasn't enough, the second devotional I read this morning also spoke to the same issue. It is from Charles Swindoll's Wisdom for the Way. Take a look at a few of Swindoll’s comments:

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"I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go." -- Psalm 32: 8

I have come to this conclusion: Doing the will of God is rarely easy and uncomplicated. Instead, it is often difficult and convoluted. Or ... mysterious. Because we don't know where He is taking us, we must bend our will to His -- and most of us are not all that excited about bending. We'd much prefer resisting. That's why Christian life is often such a struggle.

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We want what we want -- often even if that is at odds what God wants for us. God wants us to bend our will to His, making HIS wants and desires for us OUR wants and desires. That is not an easy thing. Indeed, it is a life-long struggle. Does God want you to stay safe, secure and cozy in your own home, or does He want to you venture forth into the world, helping and serving others in His name? I'm pretty sure I know the answer ... even though I often fight against it.