When God’s Will Is Difficult
“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” - (John 15:14)
There are times when God’s will is difficult. What do you do then? What happens if it is not what you want? You still submit to it, because God has your best interests in mind.
Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” Notice that He did not say, “You are My friends if you do whatever you agree with or find comfortable or pleasurable.”
David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, but that wasn’t His plan for David, so He said no. And David listened.
Jonah was told to go and preach to the Ninevites, but he didn’t want to do that. So he went in the opposite direction. And we all know how well that turned out.
Job struggled with the will of God when his family was taken from him. Yet he submitted to God’s will, saying, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
There is no greater example than someone submitting to the will of the Father than Jesus himself. He said, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Why did Jesus struggle with His Father’s will? Because He would have to bear the sins of the world.
In every believer’s life, there will come a time when obedience overrules personal desire, when spirit becomes more important than flesh, when the glory of God is more important than our own glory and desires.
So even if we don’t understand the will of God, even if we don’t always like the will of God, we must always submit to the will of God.
Summary sentence: Are you willing to submit to the will of God today?
Tags: God’s will, obedience
Copyright © 2012 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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