What happens when a strong willed person collides with Someone MUCH stronger?
Hi, I'm akachipeace.
Giving my life to Christ was all fine and dandy when I was learning all about His immense love for me that sent Him to the Cross and how deeply He yearns for me. It was so exciting to learn about His forgiveness and His power to turn my life around and his freely given grace that allows me to choose Him over sin every day of my life......... and then one day He asked ME to change. I'd turned away from sin and thought that was the only change I ever had to make. Soon and very soon, I realized there were many more layers he wanted to strip me of. I began to understand why Jesus said:
"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? "Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him. (Luke 14:28-29.)
There is a cost to discipleship! I know many Christians love the phrase "Jesus paid it all!"
but that payment on Calvary covers ALL our sins, not the cost of following Him. It does however make the cost easier to pay through the Spirit that He gives us as a Helper. That is why we must count the cost. The fact that Jesus would ask us to count the cost means that it must be a big deal. How many people sit down and count the cost of buying a candy bar? ok, How many count the cost of buying a car? See when you have to count the cost, its a big deal! Your discipleship is a big deal!
Back to the story:
So here I am, full of the joy of Salvation and God bursting my proverbial bubble by saying
God: hey by the way, this, this and this have to go.
Me:*shocked* but, Lord, they aren't technically sinful so why do you want me to let go of those things/people*
God: Just trust me. If you love me, you'll obey.
Me: *Extreme sad facing for like a week*
I wondered why was it not easy for me to just jump and say "Yes Lord! It's done!" like Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice his only son that he waited so long to receive? Where was grace when I needed it? I then realized that my strong-mindedness was an insult to God. I was so used to doing things my own way, no one could change my mind once its made up! I was a go-getter, I could get whatever I want, it was only a matter of wanting it. That was my life up until Jesus crashed that party. I'm glad He did! When we accept Christ, we don't just accept Him to wash away our sins, help us right our wrongs and make us a "better person", we accept His authority in EVERY single part of our lives. From our career, spouse, and major decisions to what we wear, say and think
Needless to say this idea is most difficult for women or men like myself who are set in their ways and hard to sway. Like i'm gonna need more than a "just trust me" to trust you Lord because Ive got it all planned out. But that is an insult to God and complete arrogance on our part. Who am I to NOT trust Him? How does my resume/track record compare to His? I'm reminded of the question God asked Job after Job began to slip up and become discouraged about his condition.
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much." (Job 38:4NLT)
I will say that they key to giving up your strong will is submitting to the One who is even stronger and knows a ton more than you do. As I began to let go of my own will when it came to God, it became easier to let go of my will when it came to people. Where I had the tendency to speak my opinion more, he gave me the wisdom to listen. He turned that strong will of mine from something that was always in conflict with Him, to a character that allows me to say NO to this world and really mean it. A strong will to stand for and maintain my convictions no matter what! A will that has kept me fighting this good fight of faith and helps me to "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14
I pray that you are wise to do the same.
Grace & PEACE.
God: Just trust me. If you love me, you'll obey.
Me: *Extreme sad facing for like a week*
I wondered why was it not easy for me to just jump and say "Yes Lord! It's done!" like Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice his only son that he waited so long to receive? Where was grace when I needed it? I then realized that my strong-mindedness was an insult to God. I was so used to doing things my own way, no one could change my mind once its made up! I was a go-getter, I could get whatever I want, it was only a matter of wanting it. That was my life up until Jesus crashed that party. I'm glad He did! When we accept Christ, we don't just accept Him to wash away our sins, help us right our wrongs and make us a "better person", we accept His authority in EVERY single part of our lives. From our career, spouse, and major decisions to what we wear, say and think
Needless to say this idea is most difficult for women or men like myself who are set in their ways and hard to sway. Like i'm gonna need more than a "just trust me" to trust you Lord because Ive got it all planned out. But that is an insult to God and complete arrogance on our part. Who am I to NOT trust Him? How does my resume/track record compare to His? I'm reminded of the question God asked Job after Job began to slip up and become discouraged about his condition.
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much." (Job 38:4NLT)
I will say that they key to giving up your strong will is submitting to the One who is even stronger and knows a ton more than you do. As I began to let go of my own will when it came to God, it became easier to let go of my will when it came to people. Where I had the tendency to speak my opinion more, he gave me the wisdom to listen. He turned that strong will of mine from something that was always in conflict with Him, to a character that allows me to say NO to this world and really mean it. A strong will to stand for and maintain my convictions no matter what! A will that has kept me fighting this good fight of faith and helps me to "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14
I pray that you are wise to do the same.
Grace & PEACE.
No comments:
Post a Comment