Saturday, June 18, 2011

Day 5 - Week 17 - 1 John 5:14, "Now this is the confidence we have before Him; whatever we ask according to His will, He hears us."

We've been talking about having enough trust to say "thy will be done" without hesitation, knowing that God's will for us is better than anything we could plan for ourselves.  That He is the only one that knows our story beginning to end and that He is the only one who knows exactly what is best for us at every point in our lives.

But I can hear someone saying, "Wait a minute....Jesus trusted....Jesus said, 'thy will be done'...and yet Jesus was crucified on a cross.  If that was God's will for Him, how can I be expected to say 'thy will be done'?  That is not the kind of future I want.  What if God's will for me brings something I really don't want?"

Well, this is where the maturity of our faith is measured.  This is where what I call our "reborn eyes" need to be utilized to see past the immediate.

For that's exactly what Jesus did. 

Hebrews 12:2 , "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Was the cross painful?  Absolutely!  Did Jesus want to go through that pain---we know he did not.  But He knew if that is what His Father had in store for Him, then there was something infinitely greater in store for Him beyond that pain.  He could see, "the joy set before Him" and so He endured.

God's plans are not always painless, they are not always easy.  But any pain endured will bring with it greater reward for our obedience.  Our Jesus died for great purpose, the salvation of our souls.  God's plan was absolutely good for all....for us and for our Savior.

Philippians 2:8-11, "He humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."



God, help me to see beyond the now, and into the forever.  Help me to know that Your plans are plans for eternity, and that whatever You bring me in the here and now has rewards that will last forever.  Help me to see through eyes that have been reborn from the temporal to the eternal.  Let me trust that everything from You is good and that I can trust in You always  and in all ways.  Thank You Jesus, my Savior, for being obedient to God's wonderful plan that brings all who believe salvation.

1 comment:

donna said...

We do not know God's specific plan but we do know that He remains beside us through each day. We know that He plans for us to endure and remain steadfast in our faith. He knows that we need Him each and every day of our lives. His plan is for us to Believe, remain obedient and trust Him always. God's plan is everlasting love and a future life with Him and Jesus Christ?