Not My Will, but Thy Will

Our Father in Heaven wants good things for us. He is more than willing to provide us with an abundant life. The thing to keep in mind is that what we want for ourselves may not always be in our best interest.

God knows every intimate detail about who we are and what we need. If we could see ourselves from his perspective, we certainly would make our decisions very differently. If we only had a small percentage of his wisdom, we would surely live our lives in a whole different way. Can you imagine how easy it would be to make decisions if we knew the outcome in advance?

I have spent the majority of my life making poor decisions. I call them "poor decisions" because I based most of them on what I wanted and insisted on doing things my way. Each time I would manage to take two steps forward something would happen that would push me three steps back. This went on year after year and I just couldn't understand why things always seemed to happen this way. I'm not sure if it was because I was trying to do everything on my own or if God was just trying to get my attention.

Over the past few years I have spent time getting to know more about our Lord and Savior. Not only have I learned to pray, but I've learned to wait for His answers. I've found that He is far wiser than I am and that he always answers prayer. Yes, He always answers my prayers even though the answer isn't always the one I am hoping for. I have learned that if I accept his decisions and am genuinely thankful, that many times He will follow up with a blessing far greater than what I originally asked for.

Let me give you one example. There were rumors going around at work about the company downsizing. Not long after the rumors started several of my co-workers where handed pink slips. I prayed long and hard that I would not be next. Sure enough, several months later, my position was eliminated. I was devastated and had no idea how we were going to pay the bills. I had been job hunting for several months and had literally found nothing.

I decided to place my situation in the Lord's hands. I prayed and told Him that I trusted him and that I knew He would provide for us. My last day was on Friday and on Monday I got a call from a company that I did not even apply to. They had seen my resume' online and wanted to give me an interview. I got the job along with better pay and a much shorter commute. It turned out that I never missed a single paycheck. I am convinced that my Father in Heaven didn't answer my prayer to keep my job because He had a much better job in mind for me. I thank him everyday for his grace and for making good on His promises that are clearly given in scripture.

If you are yearning for a better life, then start your education by studying the Bible. Everything you need is in there. I have always called this magnificent book life's operating manual. I just wish I had of started paying attention to it's words years sooner. To get started, I suggest pondering over the truths of Luke 12, verses 22 through 31. Read it several times and let it thoroughly sink in. Once you understand and believe what these verses say, you will begin to feel your worries and fears just melt away.