Quite a big topic to tackle, especially by someone who isn't a theological scholar. I can't recite Hebrew or Greek to you and my understanding of lexicons is very rudimentary. What I can talk to you about is my experience.
God is sovereign. (Duh.) But I don't think we really grasp what that means until our own will clashes with God's. Sometimes, we try to pull rank (because after all it's "our" life), bargain with God, or worse, we even try to manipulate God into doing what we want him to do in our lives.
I have tried it all, folks. Even if I don't consciously think this, somewhere on the subconscious level I think-- I'm smarter than God. Or, that I at least know what's best for my life. HA. It's laughable when you put it in those terms.
Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I was thinking about the Lord's Prayer.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
YOUR WILL BE DONE
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
And, forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and power and glory forever and ever.
Amen.
I recited this prayer to myself a couple of times and I kept coming back to the "Your will be done" part. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I have a strong will. I'm about as stubborn as they come. It's both a flaw and a strength, because I'm not a quitter either. When the going get's tough, I keep going.
But this came on the heels of a candid conversation I had with God earlier in the day where I told God that I surrendered my will to him. I asked him to help me to submit and yield and to properly bridle my fighting spirit. I also made no promises that I wouldn't need to surrender again the following week (ha!), but that I would definitely try to stop trying to make everything happen in my life by myself.
I had also asked God for a sign in a certain aspect of my life. Did I get a sign? Yes. Did it include a detailed outline, complete with footnotes and appendices? No. Dang it! Foiled again! Haha.
Seriously though, God is God. And I am not. It's as simple as that. The reality is that God doesn't need to line up his will with mine. It's my will that needs to be aligned with his. But the best part about it? God's desire is to give us more than we can ever ask for or imagine.
If I'm going to trust God, I have to trust that he is good and that he wants what is best for me (even more than I want it for myself). When you start to look at it in those terms, you begin to let go of the control we hold onto (which is a false sense of security, anyways).
Do I have all of the answers? Nope. Do I wish I did? My first reaction is, "YUP." But the reality is that I'm not God and I don't know better than He does. Plus, even if I did know all of the answers, I would probably run away screaming, because it'd be too much to handle. As for now, I will continue to be faithful in the small things and continue to trust that God has got my back.
He is Emmanuel, God with us. He will never leave us or forsake us, because he is ever-faithful-- and ever-sovereign.
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