No Will of My Own

No Will Of My OwnDo you know what it's like to not have a will of your own? The pain of it, thesecurity of it. To not be allowed to make your own plans.All of the immediate decisions are still there for me to make, but not once can I say "tomorrow I will do this" or "next week I will do this" - even for God.I cannot wrap it up in a pretty bow and say "even if it is for God's glory". He will not allow it.I have no will but His. I asked for this. It is frustrating - yet freeing. It capturesme - yet frees me from the bondages that so eagerly wait to ensnare me.From one day to the next this is how I must live in His presence; doing my necessary daily duties- but nothing more - unless He directs, orchestrates and allows.It seems absurd to worldly people and Christian alike."How can you live like that? Don't you want a 'life'"?I have a 'life'- I have the life that the Lord directs. I have THE Life ofthe Living Lord inside of me. He lives through me. There is no other way to live.I know I am safely in His care, in His will, and under His wing.This is what it is to be a prisoner of the Lord.~ChaninMarch 7, 2004

I have a 'life'- I have the life that the Lord directs. I have THE Life ofthe Living Lord inside of me. He lives through me. There is no other way to live.I know I am safely in His care, in His will, and under His wing.This is what it is to be a prisoner of the Lord.He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.(Psalm 91)

This is what it is to be a prisoner of the Lord.God has such awesome timing...we had a visiting missionary tonight speak at church. His message was none other than being a prisoner of the Lord. The service was awesome and that altar call was even better. God is Great!

amen

To take the position of ”no will” is to utterly contradict the first and foremost commandment which is ”You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength”. Mark 12:30.This is optimized will. This is energized will. This is spirit-led, spirit-filled, spirit-regulated will.It sounds good to say “not my will”. It is right to open up for His will. But man’s will must conform rather than disappear. It involves re-focussing rather than eradication.To say “no will” often covers up for no will to discipline.To say “no will” leads to self-eradication, a false humility which really says “Look at me, I am a brilliant nobody” – a person religious rather than real.Producing self-eradication is a dead deed,Producing humility boosts pride.A living, actively loving individual honours God and gives His Spirit a place to work out His precepts and purposes.Lars W.

I was just trying to share from my heart- what I was going through at the moment. I apologize if this is false humility.Satisfied in Him alone, Chanin

Hi Chanin,I apologize if this is false humility.Nah, I don't see that and those who have read your writing's here know that this is someone who has set her sights on the Lord and has 'loved the Lord' with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.Trying to give expression in words, this outworking of the innerworking...Ah, how difficult it can be! But usually the essence comes through.Lars wrote;It involves re-focussing rather than eradication.Like that, how about...... Absorption?

Hi ChaninNah,(to quote Mike) I don't think it is false humility either. I once won a medal for humility but they took it off me when I wore it :-D The tell-tale sign about false humility is that you quickly become very proud of it!I think I begin to know your heart so I didn't comment immediately but I will now. "Not my will be done, but thine" is not really 'no will'. It is a recognition of my choice but a further decision to choose another's will instead of my own. It is actually much more wonderful than having 'no will'. Sometimes having 'no will' means I don't really care.George Muller used to teach that the first step in knowing the will of God was to know your own will. In the Mark 14:10-52 passage Our Lord identifies His own will in this issue. His own will is that the cup should be removed. No healthy mind can contemplate a cross with equanimity. Jesus was "overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," [NIV] The original implies being completely surrounded by grief. His first prayer is that it might be taken away, but that is not the end of the matter. Often our first prayer is that "it" may be taken away.But that is not the final prayer. The second prayer is in perfect harmony with all He ever taught on the subject of prayer. "Our Father in heaven, Thy will be done..." He lays down His own will in the matter and embraces His Father's. As the Spirit was to express it later through Paul "He did not please Himself..." [Rom 15:3] It was the pattern of His life from its ealiest human consciousness "Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (In the roll of the book it is written of Me) To do Thy will, O God.'" [Heb 10:7 NASV] Here in Gethsemene we see not a snap decision, but a three-stage process which occupied many hours.This is not a pious aspiration; "I want whatever God wants". It is deliberate choice to lay down my own preferences, and to embrace with all my powers the revealed will of God. It is a bible definition of the phrase "taking up your cross". I cannot take up His cross; that dealt with a world's sin and is unrepeatable. By His grace, I can take up my cross; that deals with "self" and is daily.I think what Muller meant was that you can only begin to pray objectively when you have identified your own desires and laid them down before the Lord. This is what was happening in Gethsemene.I think this is what you meant anyway. So please forgive my interpretation (or should that be interruption).

Chanin,I understand what you were saying. Someone can live a "chirstian life" but until they honestly surrender their wants to Him, they're not living to please Him. Matthew 7 Jesus says that only those who do the will of MY FATHER will enter into His kingdom. So, obviously, laying down your will (or wants or however you put it) is exactly what God has called us to do. Put the most amazing part is that when we are in HIS will, we find freedom. You mentioned that. I don't want to be anywhere else but in His will anyway- and it always works out better that way anyway. For instance, I was faced with a big decision a while ago and at first I told God what I was going to do. Eventually, He broke me to the point of saying "whatever You want" and everything turned out awesome!! keep submitting to Him because it's the only way to true freedom!!!Stirring,Michelle

Thank you all. Yes, it has ben a test of the wills (mine and His). I want him to win every time. I know how Jacob felt when He wrestled with God- this seems to be a an ongoing thing in my life. A new test every few months. I thought I was broken until the next test of wills comes about. I literally pray that His will be done and not mine (even if inside I want my will still to be done.)This is my spiritual side praying against my flesh side. How weird! But sometimes it has to be done.May I keep becoming more of Him as I become less.Submitted to Him, Chanin

That meddlesome will...To my woefully limited sight, my "free will" appears to me as one thing only: the ability to sin.Therefore, insofar as I act according to my sight, I hate my will.Thankfully, God has given me some small measure of forbearance and, more importantly, of faith. By faith in Him, I know He has some worthwhile purpose for my will. By forbearance, I can tolerate my inability to see that purpose.A friend of mine made a reasonable point when he told me that without choice, there is no virtue. That makes sense, and I wouldn't be shocked if that were part of the purpose. "God has no delight in robots," or so it might be said.If it were up to me, I'd rather be a robot than a sinner. Some time ago I made prayers, in fact, that my will might be utterly abolished and replaced with God's will, if it were His to do so. Judging by my present state, though I avoid willful rebellion against Him, it was not His will.And His is more important than mine. Whatever He desires is fine with me, or at least it should be.Nevertheless, I think He is more inclined to bring my will into accordance with His own. It is enough for the disciple to be like the master, and even Our Lord had to say, "Not my will, but Thine be done."Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences, everyone. May He make of us what He desires.-Keith

Funny (slightly) take on getting our 'will' to submit towards the end of this message:J.Sidlow BaxterThat I May Know Him