Our way or God’s way, it’s always a choice.
Yesterday, my pastor preached from the Gospel of John. In John 6:15, the crowd decided to force Jesus to be their king and knowing this, he slipped away. Humanity has always wanted God to do things our way and it’s never worked out well for us. Yet, we keep trying.
My pastor said that perhaps the reason that America seems to be at odds with God at the moment, is the fact that we always want things done our way. This notion plagued my mind long after the sermon was over.
Just stop and think for a moment about the American way. McDonald’s even has the slogan, “Have it your way.” Big business has taken on the motto that, “the customer is always right.” And, boy, do we believe it. We can send back a meal that we ordered, just because we don’t like it. We can take back just about anything we order on the internet for no reason at all.
We can spill hot coffee on ourselves and then sue the restaurant because it was hot. We have also been blessed with lawyers who will convince juries that it should always be “our way.”
What happens when a nation with the entitlement issues of a two-year-old, goes head to head with God?
When the people in Jesus’ time tried to make him their kind of king, he simply withdrew. That doesn’t mean that God rained down hell, fire and brimstone from Heaven. It just means that Christianity is about freely loving and following Jesus. When we decide to stop following and insist on our own way, he steps back and let’s us.
He doesn’t push us off of a cliff. But, he will allow us to jump. He will gently and sometimes urgently ask us not to, but he will not forcibly stop us.When we hit rock bottom as we inevitably will, and cry out, he will give us a hand. He will help us up and he will help us mend.
But, the damage, well the damage is done. It can all be redeemed, but perhaps not erased.
So, why jump in the first place? That depends on whether or not, we are willing to trust that God and His word are true and for our best interest, or whether we decide to “lean on our own understanding.” The problem is we often really believe that we know what is best for us.
More often than not, we are wrong. Just think back to all of the prayers you have prayed that you thought were unanswered, from the perfect job to the perfect spouse. Looking back, we can always find a reason for prayers that got a “no.” It was always for the best, even if we couldn’t see it at the time.
It takes some serious discipline to trust in God’s will and His way. It so often seems contrary to the ideas of the society we live in. But, if we we read just about any part of the Bible, we will find that this has always been the case. It’s about the will of the Divine verses the will of humanity.
While the story is as old as time, the choice is new for us every single day. Which will you choose today, your way or His?
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂