16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Daniel 3:16-17
Christians talk, pray, worry and question God’s will constantly. What is it for me? Why is it so hard to work out? What if I don’t like what I think it is? These and so many questions tumble out as we try to see what God wants for us.
Let’s be clear, it is crucial to know how to live. It’s important to understand how we are to be disciples in today’s world.
The problem for many is that we have defined the answer before we ask the question. It can be very subtle or incredibly obvious. Either way God is often ‘boxed in’ because we have decided in advance of seeking his will what the acceptable answers are. When God’s ideas are different both our faith and God’s reality are rocked and questioned.
As the three famous young men in Daniel 3 stood in front of the king they were accused of breaking the law because they had worshipped God. For some it is the example of their strength of faith that is the most admirable quality these people show.
However I wonder if it is more about their radical openness to what God’s will might be. They understand that God is above even our attempts to understand what he wants. His sovereignty is everything. So they can face the greatest power of their age who apparently holds their lives in his hands and can say ‘even if God doesn’t save us, we will still not do what you want’. Following my own mother’s passing it is a question I have pondered in recent days. I’m finding that being open to God’s sovereignty offers me hope amidst the darkness of grief. Even in the hard times Lamentations 3 assures us that '
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to the children of men.
The three young men at the furnace are radically open to God’s will. Eternity is not boxed in. And when that happens the power of God is known, and true faith is revealed.
This is not to say we should never pray for specific things, or try to see what God wants. It is about the heart attitude that holds those desires and plans before God. Do we grasp them to ourselves seeking to dictate and control? Or do we lay them humbly at God’s throne allowing him freedom?
When you pray, how open are you to God?
Where have you ‘boxed God in’?
Is there anything you would not allow God to do in:
your church congregation?
your community?
your life?
"Is there anything you would not allow God to do in:
your church congregation?
your community?
your life?"
This rather reminds me of the questions you asked a couple of weeks ago:
"Are you willing to be pruned by God?
What will God start with?
What in your life are you unwilling to let God prune?
(attitudes, relationships, possessions, status….?)"
In a way, it's the same question - just from a different perspective. Effectively what we need to be asking is, "Are we willing to open up and ask God to work His will through us - even if that means being pruned or otherwise being taken out of our comfort zone?" Are we ready to accept that God's purpose may not be ours - and do we have enough trust and love for God to allow Him to use us regardless?
Posted by: Arkady Rose | March 11, 2008 at 11:13 PM
I think when most of us pray we are not really open to God. Our minds are so limited compared to the mind that conceived and built the universe that we automatically, perhaps inevitably, 'box' God in. In one sense, we don't have the central, processing power - to borrow a computer geek phrase - to deal with God. So what do we do? Well, I think one thing we can do is to accept God's sovereignty in our lives, rather than continually questioning God about why things happen. I know this can sound very bleak, or hyper Calvinistic in a way, but I think we sometimes struggle to find answers to some of life's questions which can't be found. That's where faith has to step in and that's where we have to accept God's sovereignty.
When we start to get to the point of accepting more of God's sovereignty in our lives we can take more risks in what we will let God do in;
our church congregation?
our community?
our lives?
Posted by: Peter | March 18, 2008 at 05:20 PM