God’s Way or Your Way?
God’s Way or Your Way?
[This is a guest story by contributor Agnes Amos-Coleman. If you missed her last post, it’s right here: The What Ifs. This post is regarding following God’s way rather than our own…such a good reminder!]
I don’t know about you, in the past, I have prayed for situations in my life to change and in the process, I attempted to manipulate God for answers. In this situation, God did answer my prayer but it wasn’t His direct will for my life but His permissive will.
As you can imagine the consequences of the answers to my prayer were disastrous but because of the mercy of God, I live to testify today.
The story of a Bible character that comes to mind who wanted his way, not God’s, is Balaam. In the book of (Numbers 22: 1-39), King Balak summoned Balaam to come and curse the children of Israel. The Lord warned him not to go, but he kept pestering God because of the great reward that the king was offering for counseling fees. Balaam became greedy and as a result, he started manipulating God’s hands in prayers. God finally said he should go ahead. It was not God’s direct will but His permissive will.
However, God was angry with Balaam and He sent His angel to oppose him by standing in his path, but for Balaam’s donkey, the Lord would have killed him.
My friends, there are lessons here for us to learn as follows:
- it isn’t pleasing to God whenever we force issues in prayers – the consequences are often disastrous. As Christ followers, we should refrain from insisting on our way over God’s way.
- We should always pray for God’s will to be done not our will. God’s will is always the best, though we don’t always see it at the time. We can never have anything better than what God intends for our lives.
Christ follower, ask the Holy Spirit to help you accept God’s will for your life, so you can enjoy His blessings for you. If you are currently not a Christ follower, today is the day of salvation – come taste, and see that the Lord is good.
All glory to God!
Agnes is a leader with proven business acumen in a variety of industries. She holds an executive MBA from the University of Hull, United Kingdom, and is also a Certified Meeting Planner (CMP). She is the author of Transforming Business with Godly Governance: Nine Characteristics for Workplace Success; God Cares for Me in Every Season: Godly Insights for Singleness, Marriage and Divorce; The Provisions of God: Insights from a Cat Named Mascot, and Weekly Insights for the Workplace: A Devotional for Christian Professionals
