Articles
Oh, to Believe It!
One of the hardest lessons each of us must learn is that it really is to our advantage to do God’s will instead of our own. Many never learn this lesson.
Using the free will God gave us, we can choose our own way in life. How easy it is to do what we want instead of what God wants!
To believe that it is truly to our advantage to do God’s will, we must believe that:
God knows best. We do not. He is far wiser than we. Like a small child intent on disobedience, we fail to understand our Father’s purposes for both our immediate and ultimate welfare.
God not only knows best, He asks of us only what is best for us. Doing His will may hurt (cause us pain), but doing His will can never hurt (harm) us. His way brings far greater benefits than any supposed gain we might receive from doing our own thing. “. . . whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25 NASB).
Sin means doing my will when it runs counter to His will. Obedience means voluntarily yielding my will to His. It is so easy to focus on the cost of obedience and overlook the rewards of obedience. And yet the rewards far outweigh anything we may give up in order to obey (Mark 10:28-30; Romans 8:18). God is the Great Compensator.
Satan will make sin look so attractive, so glamorous, and so alluring, that we must keep reminding ourselves that it is all a sham, a pretense, a lie. Satan does not deliver the goods.
Sin (doing my will instead of God’s) may bring us momentary pleasure (Hebrews 11:25), but sin will destroy us if we don’t repent (Romans 6:23). To repent may sound so hard and so unappealing, but in view of the blessings God pours out on the truly penitent, repentance must be one of the most sensible, positive things we can do for ourselves(Acts 3:19). His way may not be easy, but His way is truly best. Now if we can just keep believing that—and act accordingly.
