There is a truth in Scripture that is often a hit or miss in our lives; a truth that reveals itself only by the constant outworking of faith. It cuts against the grain of our thinking oftentimes and challenges our priorities and how we interpret and interact with people, places, and things on a daily basis. It is as tried and true as there is a day and a night. It is simple in nature and profound in its results by an unfettered act of shifting and submitting – putting God’s will ahead of any desire we may have. There is no doubt that this principle makes demands of us if we are willing to pursue this path of recognition and acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty and our poverty apart from Him.
Recently, this principle in particular has proven itself once again to me concerning a big decision, and I am refreshed by the profundity of its simplicity in the big and small of matters. Let me interject here that God wants to be involved in every desire that we have and in every decision that we make. Do not let the devil convince you that God is too busy to be bothered with every detail in our lives down to the minutia; this is simply not true. Whatever we might think or desire, God has something far better for us than we could have ever imagined or afforded (cf. 1 Cor 2:9), but this only comes, mind you, from a heart that will settle for nothing less than God’s will in any matter pertaining to His children.
How many times have we sinned in the knowledge of His will? Have we not learned that anything outside the will of God is harmful to us? The beautiful thing about putting God’s will ahead of everything in our lives is that for one, we avoid the break in fellowship and deal with the negative consequences of sin, and two, only God knows us better than we ourselves; so obedience to His will always has a positive, eternal byproduct. God is not negatively influenced by a sinful nature since He is eternally holy. He is not vulnerable to self-deception or prone to misjudgments or miscalculations. He sees our heart far better than we do (Jer 17:9-10). He knows the truth behind every single desire that emanates from our being. He sees the beginning and end of any desire that we might have. He knows quite well what we truly want, we do not want, or we think we want that is or is not beneficial to us (cf. Rom 8:28). He knows us inside and out; He is, after all, omniscient or all-knowing. Therefore, we should listen to His Word rather than our hearts, right?
But have we not convinced ourselves that we know better than anyone about what is good for us? We know God does, but at times our desires are so strong and impulsive, so self-forward, like a long freight train that cannot stop on a dime but must come to a gradual stop, that we don't want God to derail the desire (cf. Rom 7)! This kind of feeling has proven to be spiritually unhealthy because we want the desire to be realized with or without God's blessing. It's kind of scary, huh? But we all share in this tendency to set God aside because His right may not be what we want to hear at the present time. This always turns out to be a terrible mistake 100% of the time on our part! Then here comes the consequences like the ripples created when we throw a pebble into a placid pond or lake that reaches our shore.
It is in the will of God where the true gold, silver, and precious stones are found; they are not discovered in the wood, hay, and stubble of our will where getting ripped by the ripple is not only a reality but a certainty. Ripples will run their course though forgiven. God may forgive us of a bad decision, but He will allow us to live out the ripple effect of the sinful behavior of operating outside of His will for our lives. The gravity of rebellion is suffering from broken fellowship, loss of rewards, and being haunted by the consequences of our defiance of God's will.
It is in the will of God where the true gold, silver, and precious stones are found; they are not discovered in the wood, hay, and stubble of our will where getting ripped by the ripple is not only a reality but a certainty. Ripples will run their course though forgiven. God may forgive us of a bad decision, but He will allow us to live out the ripple effect of the sinful behavior of operating outside of His will for our lives. The gravity of rebellion is suffering from broken fellowship, loss of rewards, and being haunted by the consequences of our defiance of God's will.
When our desires are overpowering God’s will for our lives, we have made a decision to settle for far less than God's better even though we may think our perception of “better” is best; at this juncture, we are in an I will mode. Later down the road, we discover there has been an underestimation or regret for having made a decision out of alignment with the will of God as revealed in Scripture. Hindsight has a way of portraying a vivid mental picture of "oops" and making us gulp as the heart begins to sag!
I want both my foresight and hindsight to be 20-20! The best way to achieve that is in the renewing of our mind through the Word (Rom 12:1, 2). Finding out that better from God is a much wiser course than charging into the air with our desires for something far less. “Thy will be done” is not an option, but we have made it so which is what gets us into so much trouble. If you haven’t noticed lately, God will not prevent us from going stupid if His will is subservient to ours! I think we have all been burnt a time or two for going stupid or going around God’s will in a matter.
This fundamental principle involves a lifestyle of desiring God’s will over any and everything; it is putting Him first and us in the backseat and letting Him do the driving! When we are behind the wheel, we are flying by the seat of our pants, loving the rush of impromptu, or determining God’s will only when it’s convenient. God’s will should always take precedence over our will; we know this! He should always be at the forefront of our thinking, speaking, and acting. When that is not happening, it reveals that we are being consumed by wayward desires and not in compliance with His will for our lives. I know; it can be challenging at times because it is easier to allow the circumstances of life to cloud our judgment if we allow it. We quickly learn after it is too late that easier is the doorway to greater difficulty in our lives.
The kind of prologue to every desire that is pleasing to Yahweh is reflected by the Psalmist, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psa 37:4) or what you desire the most. Just because you desire a thing doesn’t necessarily mean it is wrong provided it is in tune with biblical principles. Whenever our desires part ways with the LORD, we are in trouble and in need of a spiritual tune up! Oh, how sin can make a muck of things! God’s better is always a superior alternative to fooling around with sin and dealing with the ripple effect of disobedience. Delight before any desire always turns out to be something far better than our best. It's smart living; it’s godly living. <><
The kind of prologue to every desire that is pleasing to Yahweh is reflected by the Psalmist, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psa 37:4) or what you desire the most. Just because you desire a thing doesn’t necessarily mean it is wrong provided it is in tune with biblical principles. Whenever our desires part ways with the LORD, we are in trouble and in need of a spiritual tune up! Oh, how sin can make a muck of things! God’s better is always a superior alternative to fooling around with sin and dealing with the ripple effect of disobedience. Delight before any desire always turns out to be something far better than our best. It's smart living; it’s godly living. <><
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