Original Entry: August 5, 2008
McMinnville, OR
Because I
do not seek my own will but the will of him who sent me. John 5:30b
He went
away a second time and prayed, “My father, if it is not possible for this cup
to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” Matthew 26:42.
For the
past 20 years I have had a recurring dream that always has several similar elements;
my college football coach and double day practices. Maybe this dream is some form of post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or simply too much red sauce on my pizza. Either way, waking up in the mornings barely
able to walk and then being required to run through six hours of practice can
take its toll on a college kid. How
these high profile college athletes handle that kind of mental and physical
pressure astounds me.
In my
dream I wake up an hour late for practice and when I do finally show up all I
am wearing is, well, not acceptable! In the dream I am embarrassed because in
reality I believe firmly in obeying authority and in my dream I clearly do not!
Jesus understood
this as he prayed in the face of death, “My father, if it is not possible for this
cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” Matthew 26:42. It is one thing for a man to want God’s will
for his life, but it is quite another lose one’s life as a part of God’s
will. God does not force his will upon a
man but when that man surrenders to His will he relinquishes his rights, plans,
and dreams to God’s plans, dreams and desires (Psalm 20:4).
Like the
double days of my college years (nightmares) this is no simple task.
Surrendering the human will for God’s is often more of a process of events than
a crisis moment. To exchange one’s dreams and plans for humility, service and
anonymity contradicts what modern culture teaches. A few men ever take the next
step.
Can you?
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians
2:20).
