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God's Will?

             “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:3)

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar;  so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” (Genesis 16:1-2)

 “Lord, I’m trying to do Your will, but…”

“No, you’re not.”

“I am. You want me to _______, and I’m trying but You’re not helping!”

Have you ever had conversations like this with God? I started into one the day before yesterday, but it didn’t get past “I’m trying to do Your will” because I could finish the conversation without God having to say a word. I was (once again) doing what I suspect we all do – to equate agreeing to a goal with doing God’s will. He’s shown me He wants me to do something. Well, then why isn’t He paving the road to it? Why isn’t the project moving forward? Why have we not accomplished it?

Well, His goal isn’t just for me to reach the goal. God had told Abram and Israel his goals for them. Woo hoo – an heir! Woo hoo – the Promised Land. But He didn’t tell them about the journey, the travel time, conditions, road blocks, etc. So when Sarai didn’t end up pregnant for years after the goal was set, and when the Israelites got out into the wilderness and couldn’t find enough water, the going their own way and recriminations began. They were trying, and God wasn’t doing His part.

The problem is that doing God’s will isn’t just about reaching a destination we’ve agreed to. It also has to do with our thoughts, behaviors, motives, and means. If we are not approaching a goal for God’s reasons, using God-approved methods, in God’s time, we aren’t doing His will, because every one of those petty, pesky details is connected with God’s will.

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