Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
It seems like my biggest obstacles are spiritual and occur when I struggle between God’s will and mine. Am I the only one willing to admit that there are times when I don’t want to surrender to God? For instance, have you ever experienced a cashier with an attitude and you want to tell her about herself and then some, but a scripture like Psalm 19:14 pops in your mind, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer?” Your flesh says to get with her, but His spirit says no and you’re left with the quandary of doing what you want versus what He commands.
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In Luke 22, Jesus was faced with a similar dilemma. Moments before He was taken and ultimately led to His crucifixion, knowing what was ahead, He prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Can you imagine the anguish He must have felt knowing He was about to die unjustly? Yet, despite His flesh being resistant, His ultimate will was to please the Father.
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Pleasing the Father is what we should strive to do as well. It should be our strongest desire. God will never require us to die in order to save all mankind. That task has already been completed. However, He will require us to die to ourselves, giving up our will for His. This can hurt, especially for strong-willed people like myself. Sometimes we think we know best or we’re afraid of how things will turn out if they’re not done our way. Whether it’s something simple or a major life-changing decision, we have to surrender and remember that God sees everything from a different perspective than we do. Giving up control can hurt at first, but the end result will be much better because we have obeyed God.
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What situation are you currently dealing with? What does His word say about it? Are you willing to let go of the steering wheel and let God lead the way?
Soul Food 