Continued from here.

Since I began submitting my will to God in 2013, my life has become much simpler – harder, but simpler. The reason is that I no longer put forth the mental energy of trying to figure out how to get out of obeying God so I can do what I want to do.

For example, as a young adult, I did not want to tithe, so I put forth much mental energy to figure out a loophole to get out of it that went something like this: “Back when tithing was commanded, people didn’t have to pay taxes at a rate like we have to pay today. God could not possibly expect me to pay this much in taxes and then, on top of that, 10% of my income to the church. And even if He did, how do I know how much to tithe? Is the 10% based on my gross earnings or my net earnings? And what about rebates or monetary gifts? Does God really expect me to tithe out of those? This all sounds too complicated to actually do.” Today, I simply give to my local church 10% of whatever hits my bank account, and I also give as the Lord leads me to give, so I wind up giving much more than 10% of what I earn. It’s simple – just not easy when I don’t feel like giving.

Satan’s way is complex, but God’s is simple. God says, “Don’t eat the fruit.” Satan says,

Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” … “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ~ Excerpts from Gen. 3:1-6

See how simple God’s command is versus Satan’s mental twisting to turn God’s no into a yes? Either we trust God, or we do not. If we trust Him, we will do what He says to do, which is quite simple … it’s just not easy.

To be continued…

[Graphic: Cartoon of Grace with a snake coiled around her. Courtesy Bitmoji.]

Continued from here.

It’s easy to follow God when things are going well. When I have just received a blessing from God, it’s easy for me to praise Him with all that I have within me and shout His goodness from the rooftops. It’s a different story when His will requires me to suffer, such as when my son faced major back surgery a few years ago. It wasn’t easy to focus on God’s goodness as my son faced having two titanium rods screwed into his spine to correct his scoliosis. I did not easily praise God during this season, and yet I did praise Him – not because I felt like it but because it’s His will that I do.

One of my greatest obstacles – and this is likely true for you as well – is that I often don’t feel like obeying God. If I let my feelings drive my choices, I would only do what God tells me to do whenever it’s convenient or feels good. However, God’s ways are rarely convenient. He commands me to pray for and show kindness to the people I want to yell at or complain about. He tells me to drive the speed limit when I’ll be late for an appointment if I do. He leads me to extend grace and love to people who make my life difficult, whether it’s an incompetent waiter or a grumbling relative. If I let my feelings drive my choices, I would never do what God tells me to do. In other words, I would never be a disciple of Christ.

In my quiet time this morning, I read the passage about an exhausted Jesus sleeping through a storm that terrified his disciples. I found it interesting that Mark notes that when Jesus said, “Let’s go over to the other side,” Mark says,

Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat.” ~ Mark 4:36

Note that they took Jesus “just as he was.” When I think of taking someone “just as he was,” it generally means not all cleaned up but in a state that the only someone who loves you would receive. As an example, one of my dear friends is going through a rough time and keeps apologizing for being “just as she was,” which is in emotional distress. I receive her “just as she was” because I love her. She’s not in a state that she would like to be, but she’s too overwhelmed with what’s going on in her life to “clean up good.” I wonder if that’s the point that Mark was making about Jesus – that he was in a state of exhaustion and too tired to cope, hence his ability to sleep through a raging storm. One does not get that way by taking the easy way. I suspect Jesus had to choose obedience over his feelings and that he was so exhausted because doing so took a heavy toll on him.

To be continued…

[Graphic: Cartoon of Grace sitting on a chair and asking, “How ya feelin’?” Courtesy Bitmoji.]

Continued from here.

I shared an example of what it looks like to submit your will to God in my last blog entry, but let’s take a deeper look. God gave us free will, so we are free to use it as we desire. We are free to use it to be selfish, to try to manipulate other people to our will, and to do evil – God won’t stop us from exercising our free will in vile ways that do much harm to ourselves and others. However, if we use our will in any way other than in submission to God, we are not Jesus’ disciple. That’s a tough pill to swallow, isn’t it? But it’s the truth. Jesus said that we cannot be his disciple unless we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. That means we must follow Jesus’ example of saying, “yet not my will, but yours be done.” Are you willing to submit your will to God as Jesus did?

Jesus said those words before going to the cross, which he certainly did not want to do. He did not spend the night praying and sweating blood because he wanted to be mutilated and killed. Yet he submitted his will to God. He had free will, just as we do, but he chose to submit that will to the Father, even when it came at the ultimate cost of being mutilated, killed, and separated from God as he carried all of our sins as he died. While we know the glorious end to the story, I wonder whether Jesus did in the dark of night as he prayed his anguished, earnest prayers as his disciples slept. I wonder if he simply knew that God’s will was for him to suffer and whether he simply loved God more than he didn’t want to go to the cross.

Regardless of what Jesus did or did not know on that fateful night, we generally have no idea what the end of our story is going to be. We face the crossroads of seeing that God’s way will bring us inconvenience or suffering while we could easily exercise our own free will to take the easier path. Which will we choose?

To be continued…

[Graphic: Cartoon of Grace lying on the floor in pain. Courtesy Bitmoji.]

Jesus advised us to consider the cost of discipleship before committing to follow him. One of those costs that I have been pondering lately is the cost of my will. The closer I grow in my relationship with God, the more I appreciate the degree to which I no longer have my own will because I have submitted it to God. I submit my will to God each time I drive the speed limit when I am running late as cars are whizzing impatiently past me. I submit my will to Him each time someone aggravates me and I chose to extend grace rather than express anger. I submit my will when I fill out my tax forms and provide an honest assessment of the value of my charitable donations when I could so easily inflate it. Submitting my will to God certainly comes with a cost.

I’ll share a cost that will likely amuse you but is nonetheless a price I pay to be a disciple of Christ. I live in a state that requires a minor to drive 60 hours using a learner’s permit before he can apply for his driver’s license after holding the learner’s permit for a year. That year ends for my son this week, but he has not yet reached the 60 hours required by law to apply for his driver’s license. I have been my son’s chauffeur for over 17 years, and I am ready to retire my chauffeur’s hat. But as of last week, he still had 10 hours of driving to go.

My son’s solution was for me to simply lie on the form. He says that all of his friends’ parents lied on it. Nobody will ever know the difference. One simple lie can release me from the responsibility of having to drive my son to school, sports, and other destinations. I can’t say it’s not tempting. However, as a disciple of Christ, I have submitted my will to God, who says that I am to submit to governing authorities, and I see no footnote excusing me from this command simply because I don’t like the law or because it is inconvenient.

Because I submit my will to God, I spent four hours on Friday night riding in the car as my son drove to a city two hours away and back, solely for the purpose of logging in the required hours. And I’ll do the same thing again on Saturday night – not because I have oodles of free time but because this is required of the governing authorities for my son to apply for his driver’s license. I submit to the law because I submit my will to God.

To be continued…

[Graphic: Cartoon of Grace driving a car and asking, “Need a ride?” Courtesy Bitmoji.]