His Will
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8
“Formerly it had seemed to me that His will was the terrible instrument of His severity and that I must do all I could to avert its terrors from swooping down upon my devoted head.” Do you find that quote funny? It was written by Hannah Whitail Smith and I’m fairly sure she was not trying to amuse. Mrs. Smith was a woman ahead of her time. The Beth Moore of her day, I suppose you could say. She was quite a faithful woman and very wise. I have read many things written by her and learned from them all. Reading that quote above however, just cracked me up! Here is a spiritual giant who died eight years before my mother was born, not exactly a contemporary of mine and yet to her sentiments I say a hardy, “Amen!”
Look at the quote in today’s vernacular. If I had written it, it would read more like, “Before I thought of God as the big daddy in the sky, not so much watching over me, as watching my every move. Whatever His will might be I could be pretty sure it involved sacrifice, trial and pain. I saw Him as waiting in the wings to drop the next shoe on my unprotected, but oh-so-Christian head.” See? Isn’t that funny? God, the one true God of the universe, the being who created us out of love, is often seen as some punishing guy, just waiting to send us some impossible, complicated, unpleasant task. Mrs. Smith goes on to say that when she came to understand the unselfish nature of God, she knew her previous assessment couldn’t possibly be true. Again, I say, “Amen!”
God is for us. In Romans Paul is quoted as saying, “If God is for us.” ( Romans 8: 31b) Of course God is for us. Paul uses the word if because he is making a comparison. It could just as easily read “with God on our side.” Still there in that tiny two letter word is where most of our trouble starts. “If” God is willing…. “If God is able….” And the worst one of all, “if” only.
Friends, God is love. (1 John4:16) There is no if in that statement. It is the backbone of truths like 1John 3:16, Romans 5:5, John 15:13 and so many more. It provides absolute certainty to Paul who writes in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
It is one of the best instruments in the enemy’s arsenal of torture to keep us in a mindset that says God’s will is inhibiting, frightening or angry. To ponder the will of God and decide it is to be avoided is the surest way to self-destruction. God is for us, there is no if about that and because He is His will is perfect and best; even when it is uncomfortable, even when we don’t understand it, we can rest assured that our God is an awesome God who loves us beyond anything we can ask or imagine. We need to keep our pious, Christian, “devoted” heads, focused on Him at all times. His grace is enough and then some and His will is far superior to our own.
“Formerly it had seemed to me that His will was the terrible instrument of His severity and that I must do all I could to avert its terrors from swooping down upon my devoted head.” Do you find that quote funny? It was written by Hannah Whitail Smith and I’m fairly sure she was not trying to amuse. Mrs. Smith was a woman ahead of her time. The Beth Moore of her day, I suppose you could say. She was quite a faithful woman and very wise. I have read many things written by her and learned from them all. Reading that quote above however, just cracked me up! Here is a spiritual giant who died eight years before my mother was born, not exactly a contemporary of mine and yet to her sentiments I say a hardy, “Amen!”
Look at the quote in today’s vernacular. If I had written it, it would read more like, “Before I thought of God as the big daddy in the sky, not so much watching over me, as watching my every move. Whatever His will might be I could be pretty sure it involved sacrifice, trial and pain. I saw Him as waiting in the wings to drop the next shoe on my unprotected, but oh-so-Christian head.” See? Isn’t that funny? God, the one true God of the universe, the being who created us out of love, is often seen as some punishing guy, just waiting to send us some impossible, complicated, unpleasant task. Mrs. Smith goes on to say that when she came to understand the unselfish nature of God, she knew her previous assessment couldn’t possibly be true. Again, I say, “Amen!”
God is for us. In Romans Paul is quoted as saying, “If God is for us.” ( Romans 8: 31b) Of course God is for us. Paul uses the word if because he is making a comparison. It could just as easily read “with God on our side.” Still there in that tiny two letter word is where most of our trouble starts. “If” God is willing…. “If God is able….” And the worst one of all, “if” only.
Friends, God is love. (1 John4:16) There is no if in that statement. It is the backbone of truths like 1John 3:16, Romans 5:5, John 15:13 and so many more. It provides absolute certainty to Paul who writes in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
It is one of the best instruments in the enemy’s arsenal of torture to keep us in a mindset that says God’s will is inhibiting, frightening or angry. To ponder the will of God and decide it is to be avoided is the surest way to self-destruction. God is for us, there is no if about that and because He is His will is perfect and best; even when it is uncomfortable, even when we don’t understand it, we can rest assured that our God is an awesome God who loves us beyond anything we can ask or imagine. We need to keep our pious, Christian, “devoted” heads, focused on Him at all times. His grace is enough and then some and His will is far superior to our own.
Comments
Post a Comment