Our Will And Not HIs

"Stop being offended when he doesn't follow in our footsteps."

JUST BECAUSE the other man isn’t preaching the same as you, just because he doesn’t preach sin and instead preaches love and forgiveness, just because he doesn’t call out people for their behavior, does not make him unscriptural, ungodly, or not in the Spirit. I hear too many criticize others for not taking a stand morally, politically, as if boldness against scriptural issues is required. Jesus took a stand. He ate with sinners, and the “church” got mad (Matthew 9:11). The church then tried to get Him to give a demonstration: “Show us something you can do.” Jesus took a stand. He said, “Look around.” Then referred them to Jonah (Matthew 12:38-39). They didn’t see it. When He cleansed the temple, which had become pandemonium, they blew up and plotted His murder (Mark 11:18). He took a stand. He submitted Himself to the Father’s plan and died for them.

Sermons are supposed to talk about Jesus, not each other. They aren’t for us to air our opinions but for us to give ourselves to do the Spirit’s will. We jump ahead of Him in what we say. The topic was His, the Scripture reference, but after point one, we went off on our own. He anoints us, so we assume He agrees with us, but that’s not always the case. He loves you, so He wants you to succeed. We can actually go off topic and preach what appeals to us, and He will allow it for love’s sake. But we’re still off topic, and it isn’t what He wants us to say, so we miss out on what He intended to do. Or we hunger for what we want Him to do, but that isn’t where His heart is right now. He is always Healer, always salvation, always wisdom, always peace. He is forever loving and gentle and kind, and oh so patient. But His plans are better than ours, and what we can’t see, we tend to fill in the blanks. We have to stop. Stop doing our will and not His, and stop being offended when He doesn’t follow in our footsteps.

We’re too caught up in our likes and dislikes. If you hate watermelon, then He isn’t going to force you to eat it. But perhaps you felt like pineapple, and He asked you to have peaches. These are just simple examples so you can see my meaning. He wanted you to speak on prayer, and He gave you Romans 8:26; you started there but ended up in John’s Revelation, mixing in prophecy. No, teach them to pray.

We justify our choices by saying it’s our style, or it’s how we learned, and other similar excuses. It still isn’t what the Spirit asked of you. He is forgiveness. And He actually isn’t angry-sensitive. That’s been taught about Him, but His sensitivity is for our good. He knows every tiny nth of meaning to all of our thoughts and words (Hebrews 4:12), and has the best path for us picked out. His rewards, the rewards of following the Father, and of following Jesus, are so much more than we can ever imagine. Knowing this, we should care more for Him than we do for ourselves. That is how love works, how God’s love works. It gives and gives and gives, until it has given all of itself. It’s a beautiful, powerful emotion fueled by eternal life.

Our joy, true joy, comes from seeing Him joyful at our obedience. What we think we want, done outside of His desires for us, will only be fleeting, for a time. What He wants that we give ourselves to, we will enjoy, and it will change us. I’ve asked God to change my heart on several things I struggle with, and I know it will happen. How they are now doesn’t give me joy, so change me, God, so they won’t be an impediment in my days. This is what He wants of us, maturity to know when we are wrong, and He is who fixes it. How we get used to doing things can hold us back. It is so much better to trust Him and grow. To trust Him and know and see His goodness manifest all around us.

“Put all your hope in God, not looking to your reason for support.”(Proverbs 3:5 BBE)

“Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make.” (Proverbs 3:5 TPT)

“I give up everything this world has to offer so that I might be with Christ and be recreated in Christlike character—not from my own efforts or attempts to cure myself, not by observing some code, but by true re-creation of mind, heart and character that God accomplishes when we trust him.” (Philippians 3:8-9, Remedy)

Photo by Jyotirmoy Gupta on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com