Jesus was not
caught off guard by the threat of crucifixion. He knew His destiny; yet, He
hoped there was another way to pay our debt for our sins (Matthew 26:39). He
implored our Father God in the Garden of Gethsemane to let this cup pass from
Him.
Then, He ended His
prayer with the conviction of His heart, "Not my will, but Yours be
done." Jesus went to the cross to prove the full extent of His love for
the world full of people who live in the past, present and future (John 13:1).
I am a planner.
I do not like surprises of any kind. The turmoil that sums up my years on this
earth has taught me to breathe with shallow breaths full of the subconscious
anxiety of my soul, which is imaging and dreading the next trauma that will
assail me.
I used to make
my plans and then tell God the best way to accomplish my goals. I had it all
figured out so that no trials would attack me that I was not prepared to
handle.
As I matured in
the faith, I stopped dictating to God; but when circumstances assailed me that
I did not appreciate, I would say, "Well, God, I just want You to know
that I would not have done it this way."
I am sure our
Daddy God had a good laugh at my arrogance, especially since He advises us in
His Word to rejoice in tribulation - to consider every trial as pure joy (Romans
5:3; James 1:2-4). This takes a switch in our paradigm and world view.
The first action
I took to comply with His advice was to finally realize, like Joseph in the
Bible, that He plants a seed for a miracle in every trial (Genesis 50:20). That
way I could rejoice always, realizing that this was the will of God for me (1
Thessalonians 5:16-28).
Prayer:
Father God,
renew our mind and give us the ability to view life from Your eternal
perspective, rather than our limited finite mindset. You are working in every
aspect of our life at home, family, work, church, neighborhood and community to
teach us to trust only in You to supply our needs, as well as to rely on You to
work out every circumstance in our life according to Your will for us.
Prod us back
into Your reality when our thoughts spiral out of control with earthly concerns
and fears. Teach us to view every aspect of life with gratitude, because You
have blessings for us hidden in every tribulation we will ever experience.
Remind us to receive Your miracles from Your hand in Your timing and way,
rather than to attempt to grab what we want from Your generous supply.
Thought for the
Day:
When we cannot
see the immediate results of our trials, we can trust in God's wisdom and
timing, rather than trying to manipulate the circumstances according to our
will instead of waiting on God's plan as our benevolent Lord, Master and King. - Genesis 16
