•1:35 PM
The whole Christian journey for those who obey Christ can be boiled down to one prayer.
It was that prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden after eating with his disciples.
At the end of his prayer, He said these words. "Not my will, but thy will be done".
In our day to day walk with Christ, those 8 words sum up what our life in Christ is all about. Not our will, but HIS will.
The fact is when we accept Christ and obey, the Bible says that it is no longer our life any longer.
We have surrendered our life to Him.
It doesn't belong to us any more, it belongs to Him.
It is no longer our life to do with as we please, but is now HIS life to do with as HE pleases.
This is the one big element of the Christian journey so many never understand, and it is why so many Christians live unfulfilled lives. This is also the reason why so many, after being baptized into Christ, backslide and end up in the same traps, the same bondage as before they were saved.
When a person acknowledges Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, there is not only a spiritual work that is done, but that spiritual work then must translate into the real day to day life of that person.
A newly saved person needs a seasoned Christian to help them understand that their life is now different, to walk with them in those early days of their Christian journey, to help them in their new walk with Christ. Whereas before they did exactly what they wanted, how they wanted, when they wanted, that is no longer the case. Their lives now belong to the Lord. It is no longer what they want to do, but what God wants them to do.
Of course this change does not come overnight.
It is a process.
Day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year.
Spending time in the Word, in prayer.
The act of dying to self is something we all must do daily.
We can never forget whose life it now is.
Each day we must be open to what God is wanting to do in our life.
He has a plan and purpose for each one of us.
However, we can block that plan and purpose by imposing our will over His. That is our God-given freewill choice. But in doing that, we not only miss out on so many blessings, but forfeit the peace, joy and abundance this life can offer since that is only known when we are in His perfect will.
God, who came to this earth as a man sacrificing His life on the cross for the sins of the world.
God confirming all Christ said and did by raising Him from the dead.
From the night prior to His death, we get the greatest example of all about what the Christian life is all about. Being totally yielded to the will of God in our life. Setting aside our will for God's will.
My friend, there is no better place to be than in the will of God.
He loves you.
He cares about you.
This is where our faith is put to the test.
Faith is believing God can and will do exactly what He promised in His Word.
We spend so much of our life trying never to have to see if it really works. But there will come times when you have nothing else but your faith in the Lord. Those are the special times in life when we put our faith to the test.
He won't let you down.
He loves you too much.
Christ, throughout His life was the perfect example of how to live this life.
Just hours before His life was to end, he gave us this incredible lesson that really sums up our life as Christians.
The surrender of our will for God's will.
I have to admit, it is by far the hardest lesson to learn.
We become so good throughout our life in doing it "our way".
It is the ultimate act of surrender.
However, let me assure you that your way will never be better than His way.
Today, let this simple 8 word prayer be your prayer today...."not my will, but thy will be done".
