If He Wills

Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional
June 7

IF HE WILLS

My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work (John 4:34).

I'm sometimes impressed by how much people can accomplish when they believe in themselves. When I worked on the Apollo space program in the 1960s, we bid on a contract for the space shuttle. The technology to build the type of rocket it would take to boost that size payload into space had not yet been developed, but NASA believed that given enough time and resources, it could be done. Ten years later it was. Some who believe only in science exhibit greater faith than Christians. How much more should we be able to accomplish if the object of our faith is God?

Every commandment of God comes with a promise: "For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are yes" (2 Corinthians 1:20). God will never command us to do something that He will not empower us to do. It is never a question of whether God can, but if He wills. If He wills, then we can, if we believe. Those predisposed to do His will understand what it is (John 7:17), and by the grace of God will do it.

It is critical to realize that God is under no obligation to man. God is only under obligation to Himself and to the covenants He has made with us. We don't need God jumping around in heaven catering to our every whim! There will never be a day when we say something and God has to do it because we said it. We cannot box God in.

There was a woman in my pastorate who wouldn't let me pray for her dying husband if I concluded my prayer with, "Be it done according to Thy will." I will never apologize for bowing to a higher authority. We are told to pray, "Thy will be done." Any other way would put us in the position of the Lord. The independent use of God's Word and divine attributes is precisely how Satan tempted Jesus. Jesus withstood the temptation to act independently of God the Father and declared that His food was to do the will of His Father who sent Him. That is our food as well.

Thank You, Lord, that You have all the power I need to accomplish Your will for my life today. I tap into Your vast power source by faith to accomplish great things for You.

Copyright © 2006 Freedom in ChristAll Rights ReservedTaken from Daily in Christ by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson