Deal With It
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done. Luke 22:42
Jesus was honest with his Father about the difficulty of accepting the plan. It was not going to feel good at all. He prayed for another way. But He was surrendered to God. In the end, Jesus wanted God’s plan more than His own comfort. That’s a gutsy man praying a gutsy prayer.
What does it take to become like our leader Jesus? Total submission to let the Father direct the dream of Christ-likeness, giving Him unrestricted freedom to choose the way to accomplish it.
If you are tempted to grab a parachute and bail out of the dream, or if you are asking God if there is another way “to do this thing,” you are in good company. God forms His Son into our lives in ways we would not always choose ourselves. God’s men through the ages recognized that suffering was part of the process if the dream was to be accomplished.
The point is this: sacrifices and suffering are part of the deal. What will those sacrifices look like for you? Only God knows. So if you are reading this and are experiencing a trial that is stretching you to the limit — be encouraged, my brother, because like a blacksmith forging tempered steel, God is forging His Son in you. Don’t forget Satan is planting other thoughts in your mind, thoughts of blame, lack of vision, this is too hard, give up. Satan means it for evil, but your Father means it for good.
Father, thank you for your plan and your promise.