It is so easy to get caught up in doing our will that we lose sight of God’s will for us. Suddenly, our will is (what we perceive as) God’s will for our lives and becomes our focus. We turn our eyes from what we know we should do – following the spiritual laws – and instead; we institute the physical; we let our emotions dictate our path.
Still, we may put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). We take the time to gird our waist with truth, struggle into that heavy breastplate of righteousness, shod our feet loosely with the gospel of peace, throw on the Helmet of Salvation, barely shoulder the shield of faith in one arm and the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) in the other. Once we feel completely dressed and ready for battle, we throw our hands up, tell God to stand back, and let him know ‘we’ve got it from here’. We often take an attitude of “I’ve got this, God” as if He needs us to defend Him. Perhaps we have seen one too many movies…
God goes before us
The Word tells us that God goes before us. (Deuteronomy 31:8).
He isn’t the king standing in the castle hidden behind the walls, expecting his army to defend him. He is the King at the front of the army, on the front line. He goes BEFORE us. God wants His people to stand with Him, for Him, near Him. We are given the armor, not to protect Him, but to protect US. The armor is FOR us.
We need to remind ourselves daily to put on the full armor of God. We need to remind ourselves daily that we need to follow Him. We need to suit up and show up and know that God will do the rest. Consider that when we are standing and preparing to fight, that we have a mighty banner flying in front of us, and we call Him Jehovah Nissi! (God is our banner! He is our victory!) [Exodus 17:15]
God needs us to open our hearts and our minds to Him. To do all HIS will in our lives and for our lives. It isn’t always easy. We don’t get to see the full path ahead of us. We get to put our faith to the test and TRUST in Him. We need to learn not to put our will first. We need to not get confused with doing our will and thinking it is His.
The Bible tells us to ask for wisdom and He will give it to us. [James 1:5] It tells us to ask for understanding, and He will give it to us. [Proverbs 2:3-8] He tells us to test the spirits to know His will in our lives.[1 John 4:1]
If you want to be standing where God wants you to be, then you have to trust Him. We need to Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God. [Mt 6:33] When we do that, God ADDS to our lives. Perhaps you are familiar with the name Jehovah Jireh, God, our provider. [Gen 22:14] God provides for His people, more so when we are doing His will. It is usually hard to see what that is. More often than not, we feel as if we are stumbling in the dark. God gives us just enough light for where we are. He never gives us more than we can handle. We need to remind ourselves about these things.
We need to go to the Word
There is comfort when we go to the word of God. The Bible is filled with His promises for our lives. It is filled with blessings for our lives. However, we need to remember that the Bible is not a magic lamp. It is not something that you rub, make a wish, and it comes true. God offers us many good things, but there are things we need to do in order to get the fullness of those blessings.
When the Israelites were in the desert, God blessed them with manna from heaven to feed them. He blessed them with water from a rock to ease their thirst. God blessed them, but they never received the fullness of what they could have had. Why? They often grumbled and rebelled while on the journey. They lacked faith and conviction of belief. In other words, they didn’t trust God to deliver. They didn’t do what He asked them to do. If they had, the story would have been completely different.
How can we hope to completely follow what the Bible tells us to do? We can’t. We wrestle with our flesh and blood. This is when we must consider two things; grace and forgiveness. God gives us grace, and He forgives us when we ask. We need to recognize that we will stray from the path God has us on. When we stumble and fall, He will pick us up, dust us off and help us get back to where we need to be. First, we must ask.
We need to not sit in the dirt, let our faces get all red and become so stubborn we refuse to ask. Remember – ask and it shall be given. Seek and it shall be found. The door is open to us, if only we will put aside our ‘ISM’s’ (I, self, me) and put God first in ALL things.
Let today be a blessing to you. Find one simple thing that you can thank God for. Spend time with your heavenly Father. Let Him shelter you beneath His wings. Let Him love and comfort you and direct your path.