May 5

“We ‘desire’ to do the will of God, not because our piety is so exalted, but because we have the sense to see that His will is the best; and therefore what He wants we want also.....For when our will is in harmony with His will...it has the stamp of oneness with Him....” Hannah Whitall Smith, Daily Secrets, 5/5

Our wills are really the cause of all our troubles.  We talk of denying self, ignoring self, dying to self, but it’s really the self-will that we are talking about.  The will that wants it’s own way and that way is against God in some way.  It’s against God, obviously, when it wants something we all agree is bad--like stealing, lying, killing, etc.  But it’s also against God whenever it doesn’t want to depend on God to receive what it needs.  This is when our wills lead us into running ahead of God’s timing---like Sarah and Abraham did when they did not wait for God’s timing for Sarah to conceive the promised heir.  Or it leads us into not loving others by demanding our rights over theirs.  Or not being content with what we have.  The list goes on and on!  Freedom in Christ, then, is having this sense that Hannah speaks of--the sense to see that God’s will is the best and therefore wanting what God wants.  This is how we bring our wills into harmony with God’s will and how we can then claim His promises.

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  Psalm 37:4