His Will Is Your Power
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ––Hebrews 11:1
Willpower. It’s a word I heard a lot growing up. My Dad—who was a former military officer—used to say, “We need to exercise our willpower to live a healthy life.” And he was correct. However, for God’s man, a successful life is defined through a Kingdom lens: Submitting our will to the power of His purpose for us. That’s not easy to do, because we are trained to strive; we are trained to fight; and we are trained to succeed in our own gifts and talents and willpower (stick-to-it-iveness). And, hear me clearly: All those attributes are important and necessary!
In the end, every man will discipline himself to his strongest hope. To get the girl, we discipline ourselves to buy flowers, write sappy cards, and concentrate on listening. Why? We hope to win her affections. To get the contracts for our business, we network, smile, and dial, and follow up on leads. Why? We hope to get paid (financially, promotionally). To get that six-pack stomach, we discipline ourselves to eat right and suffer a core workout at the gym. Why? We hope to look like the dude on the cover of Men’s Health.
The soldier, athlete, and farmer are each married (or “wired”) to give in to temptation. The soldier is tempted by civilian life. The athlete is tempted to cut corners (steroids). The farmer is tempted to sleep in. But each also has a strong hope waiting for him that is stronger than the temptation, which causes him to discipline himself and practice self-control. The soldier’s hope is to win the approval of his commanding officer, so he concentrates on his military duty. The athlete’s hope is to attain the gold medal, so he follows the rules of the competition. The farmer’s hope is the upcoming harvest, so he wakes up early and walks behind smelly oxen while plowing his field. When the stimulus comes to those three guys, their hope intervenes, and they say no to their temptation and yes to their hope. Hope is power and it’s the Holy Spirit’s mission in our life is to remind us of our strongest hope.
It’s pretty nice to live a guilt-free life, to know that the Creator of the universe has decided to lay His hand on your shoulder and say, “I want you as my son.” That’s true willpower: Doing the Father’s will in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Father, it is You who has put this hope within me; thank You.