To Pray, “THY Will be Done”, I Must be Willing for Mine to be UNdone

I wrote a post last night to update folks on my dad & then deleted it. My heart was burdened as I penned the words, so the message felt heavy laden. A high temp & labored breathing led back to the aid of a breathing tube. It felt like a step in the wrong direction, but it’s really a way to help his body rest while he heals.

When things are hard or heavy, we can choose to respond in many ways. Today I read about two options that can each feel hard.

Mark 15 tells how Jesus faces His accusers, the priests, elders & teachers of the law as they, “discuss their next steps.” I can’t imagine the temptation to react to these men who plotted with such wicked intent. They bring him before Pilate & accuse Him of many things, but when asked for a response, Jesus made no reply. He was beaten & whipped & mocked & finally crucified, yet throughout it all, he made no reply.

The enemy likes to accuse anything & anyone. That’s one of his names👉🏽The Accuser. I believe the Lord is Lord over all & yet accuser is free to roam the earth until Jesus returns. When circumstances don’t go as we’d hoped or things begin to unfold in an unwanted direction, he loves to whisper sweet nothings filled with negativity. Making no reply can hard.

On the flip, David writes in Psalm 54 of a time when he’s hiding from his accuser - Saul. In the midst of hiding, he does something almost as remarkable. He uses his words to proclaim that God is his helper & offers a “voluntary offering” of praise!

I can’t say that silence or praise would be my go-to responses when things are difficult. We can be honest with God about our feelings & also be careful not to give too much airtime to the enemy.

Elizabeth Elliot once said,

“To pray, ‘Thy will be done,’ I must be willing, if the answer requires it, that my will be undone.”

Father, when walking through the valleys of hard, & our will wishes to to use words to complain, help us to let our will be undone so Yours might prevail! Holy Spirit, help us to either make no reply to enemy operation OR use our words instead to praise the name of our good God who rescues us from troubles & helps us triumph over the enemy!

#OneYearBible

March 11th One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 15:17-16:40

MARK 15:1-47

PSALM 54:1-7

PROVERBS 11:5-6

What Do I Want to HAVE Done When it’s Time for Me to BE Done This Side of Heaven?

What do I want to HAVE done when it’s time for me to BE done?

That’s the question I texted myself as I left the hospital yesterday. Spending a portion of the last 3 days in ICU with my dad has provided ample opportunity to ponder purpose. Everyday as I walk the halls & see people in critical care, an urgency develops & a prayer quickly follows,

“Oh, Lord, BE Lord over my mind, will & emotions. I want the 2nd half of my life to double Kingdom impact made by the 1st! When it’s time for me to BE done this side of heaven, what is it You’d like to HAVE done through my life?

As we prepared for bed last night, I had a chance to connect with my sister who is a missionary in Estonia. She & her husband left what seemed like custom-made jobs to follow the Lord’s lead to the mission field. As she shared details of their journey, one (gisted) thing she said lit up like a lighthouse: “I don’t ever want money to be my motivation.”

My insides leapt with a resounding, “YES!” As i crawled into bed, I remembered that my other sister’s husband sent me a link to an assessment called, “The Motivation Code.” I took a peek at it & fell asleep wondering what motivates me.

As I  look back on life, many of my decisions were based on the financial security they’d provide. But to be honest, if I’m looking for riches to be my motivator & source of peace, I will always be sorely mistaken.

When I opened my Bible to Proverbs 11:4, I think my breath escaped my lungs:

Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.

”Right living” means to live with a just cause. While I live life, what gives cause for my decisions? Is it to seek fake security? Maybe it’s to please others? Maybe it’s to please myself?

Oh, that the cause for ALL decisions would be to follow the One Who saved us from eternal death! When Jesus is Lord not just over our Sunday mornings, but in our living & breathing & walking & talking, we experience a kind of life that becomes a glimpse of heaven!

Father, show us what You’d like to HAVE done when it’s time for us to BE done! Give us an eternal perspective so we might not miss a life that is glimpse-worthy of our future home in heaven! #OneYearBible

March 10th One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 14:1-15:16

MARK 14:53-72

PSALM 53:1-6

PROVERBS 11:4

When Facing a Land Filled with Giants, Exaggerate Only on the Goodness of God

When I was younger, I struggled with the temptation to exaggerate. I’d tell stories & add small details that sounded amazing, but weren’t exactly true 😳

I sometimes wonder if exaggeration is a tool the enemy uses to cause us to shake in our shoes? Like we face facts, but then suddenly our mind wanders into the land of “what if” & the facts get a few tidbits added that makes hard things feel impossible?

Exaggeration can make for a great story, but I learned today that it can also change the course of history.

Before God leads His people to the Promised Land, He sends 12 men to scout the terrain with a mission to answer many questions-what’s the land like, are the people strong, towns strong? As I read, I wondered why He didn’t just tell them? I mean He KNEW giants lived there, He KNEW the cities had walls, & He KNEW the crops were so great that it’d take 2 men to carry a single cluster of grapes! So why ask?

I think to reveal what was in their hearts. After 40 days of exploring, instead of proclaiming amazing things, 10 men spread a bad report among the people proclaiming how the giant-filled land will devour anyone who goes to live there! Not only did they FEEL like grasshoppers, they suddenly became mind-readers because they tell the people that’s what the giants thought about them too!🙄

Although Joshua & Caleb encourage the people to trust God, they refuse. The see the figs, pomegranates & grapes, but they refuse in fear, resulting in 40 more years of wilderness wandering with quail & manna.

My dads been in the hospital since Sunday. As the doctors give insight, I’m tempted to focus on what’s not being said, instead of the good news of today.

Y’all if we are to exaggerate about anything, let’s exaggerate about the goodness of our God! He is faithful to lead us to the land of plenty when we trust Him to do so! And to be frank, we CAN’T exaggerate about Him because we don’t have words to fully encompass His goodness!

We will all face giants at some time in life & God knows they’ll be there. He may not orchestrate their removal, but leave them to fine tune our eyes & ears to facts that can only be embellished & made beautiful by the goodness of our God!

#OneYearBible

March 9th One Year Bible Readings

NUMBERS 11:24-13:33

MARK 14:22-52

PSALM 52:1-9

PROVERBS 11:1-3