Really liked this from a sister at church…

What does it look like to WANT God’s will over your own?

“Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”  – Mark 14:36

Even though Jesus was grieved about His upcoming torture and death, He was still willing to pursue His Father’s will above His own. Because of His relationship, love, and respect for His Father, Jesus was not just willing to submit to the Father’s will. He WANTED it.

How many times have you ever pleaded with God for something when you genuinely thought you had a superior plan that would work out more perfectly than anything God could come up with?

When I was in high school and college, my perfectly laid out plan was to be married by the age of 23, have my first child by 25, second child by 27, and third child by 29, so that I would have my cute little “complete” family by the time I was 30. Well, I turn 30 in about five weeks without a husband or children. I know now that had everything gone according to my “perfect” plan, I’d more than likely be in a marriage that wouldn’t glorify God the way He intends marriage to, and I would have sought my identity in motherhood.

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The question is do I WANT His best for me, or do I only want what I THINK is best for me right now.

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It’s okay to ask God for things we want or desire. Jesus was asking to avoid the suffering before Him, but He also knew that His impending suffering and death would ultimately bring the Father more glory, so He chose God’s will over His own desires. Here’s a question we need to ask ourselves: “Is what I am asking for going to bring God more glory?”

Here’s some heartening bits, with permission, from a card my mom received from her Sunday School teacher back in the day, Nancy. Nancy (and her husband) shared the gospel with my parents when they first moved to the U.S., discipled them and have been sort of like their spiritual parents. She has known me since before the days I could walk or talk all the way to reading Scripture at my wedding!

This is also a special thank you to Nancy for sharing the book to friends in Monroe, LA, where I grew up. It is always with humility when I think of how God still chooses to use a simple, melancholic, small-town girl for His purposes and glory.

… Almost any young person could relate this to their life and be so blessed. We could see the heart of Grace all the way thru it. Amidst all her struggles, the Lord kept drawing her to Himself and she kept responding to Him until it is quite evident that she came to the place in her life that Jesus Himself was her first love. I believe the Lord desires this for both husband and wife but few young people begin their marriage this way. I think this is the beautiful truth in her book and it has taken me years for me to know this …

You know, some people think the book is a love story to Yuee or my unknown spouse at the time… But it’s so true that the love story is actually first finding the Lover of our Souls, from whence all other forms of earthly love can follow.