Page 1507: Yielding to God

I sat down awaiting my time to leave for work this morning and began flipping through my Bible. It was a morning of not quite knowing what to read – so let’s see where I end up. I stopped at page 1507. One of my Bibles is a Women’s Bible catered for a woman to read. Throughout it there are boxes called “At Issue” and it deals with specific issues a woman will deal with and then references scripture. This mornings box read this:

Yielding To God: Sometimes God calls us to do things we do not want to do. To give up something or someone we love. To face our greatest fears. To embrace what we’d rather reject. Jesus knew that loving God required great sacrifice. In his honest prayer, we see his desire for a way around the pain he’d soon face, and we also see his greater desire to do God’s will. We see that he cared more about yielding to God than seeking his own comfort. God calls each of us to difficult paths for the sake of his glory. Are you willing to yield to him?

The scripture referenced is Luke 22:41-44. This scripture reads,

⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

The gist of this scripture? Even if you are going to suffer, if it’s for the glory of our King, then per-sue the pain. Per-sue the humility. Per-sue the isolation. Per-sue the battle wounds. Notice the scripture reads “an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.” We can’t experience God’s strength if we haven’t found our weakness. You are arguing with me at this point… I can hear it. Are you really going to allow yourself to listen to someone else if you feel you can handle it on your own? Not likely. When we get to the bottom where we can’t handle it anymore – we get on our knees and we pray for God to take it away.

I began my drive to work. Traffic horrible from last night’s ice over. I’m listening to Praise FM (91.7) and Turning Point comes on. David Jeremiah starts reading from 2 Corinthians about Paul and how he had asked God three times to remove the thorn in his life. And God said… No. He then references the very scripture I read this morning explaining Jesus asked God three times to pass the cup from him if it was HIS will. In both situations God said no. What the Lord did instead was tell them basically (in lamen’s terms) “I won’t take it away but I will give you the grace to get through it together.” Isn’t that what we want? Most of us probably want the easy way out – but those of us who are serious about this walk with God… who truly want to get their hands dirty and make a difference understand the importance of suffrage. There is nothing HIS grace can’t get us through… It’s all a choice. God is a gentleman and will NEVER impose on you. While you are sitting reading this blog, why not take a moment and be intimate with God about your fear of doing this. He knows already so it’s not like your hiding it from Him!