Could You Give It Up?

How do we know what the Lord really wants from us, especially in areas that are not specifically pointed out in scripture?  One Christian might have a strong conviction in an area and another may not.  I have told my children, the only way you will be able to discern the Lord's will for you when you are at a fork in the road, is to be willing to go down either path.  If the one path seems easier and more pleasurable to you, and you are really leaning towards that path, you will never be able to hear from the Lord.  You MUST get your heart to a place where it is willing to follow WHEREVER the Lord may lead.

I remember years ago, a friend was convinced that it was wrong to celebrate Christmas.  I personally had never had that conviction, but I wanted to see if maybe the Lord was trying to tell me something through her.  So I asked her for all the information she had on why Christians should not celebrate Christmas, and Mike and I went through it and prayed.  During this time, I had to get my heart in a place where I was willing to celebrate it or willing to give it all up - to get rid of all my wonderful decorations and family traditions.  Then Mike told me, after reading through the information, that he felt there was value in our family celebrating Christmas.  So that was that!  But I would not have known the Lord's will in that area if I had not been willing to give up.  And now, I celebrate Christmas with a totally clear conscience, full of joy!

In the same way, the subject of wearing a head covering came up once.  Again, I had to get my heart in a place where I was willing to wear one, if that was what the Lord wanted me to do.  I had never in my life desired to cover my head, but I wanted to be open to the Lord's will, so I prayed and again got my heart in a place where I was willing.  Then the Lord showed Mike through His Word, that He did not want me to wear a head covering.

There are so many areas in life where we need to discern the Lord's will.  But the question is...Are we willing?   Most of the time, we just dream up the kind of God we want to serve.  And then we live our Christian life based on a false God that we created with our mind.  True Christians have been bought with a price, and our life is not our own.  We should not be making decisions about our life based on our knowledge, emotions or what other people do.  We need to search His Word and pray for wisdom.  He wants to use us; He has a plan!  But if we don't let Him have His way in us, what good are we to the Kingdom of God?

Ask Him what He wants from you!  How does He want you to treat your husband, your children, your friends?  How does He want you to dress?  What does He want you to put before your eyes?  What does He want you to listen to?  What does He want you to invest your time in?   Are you willing to let God have His way in your life?  To make yourself of no reputation, to become a servant, and follow Him?  That's what it takes to truly walk with Him.  Anything else is just a false form of Christianity!  Surrender it all to Him!!