Doors without Clauses

A few weeks ago my son, Joseph, started talking about going on a Mission Trip in 2010. This has been a prayer of mine, for a door to open for Joseph that he could do something like this. He was very excited and rambling on about how he would need to start saving as soon as he was able to get a full time job. I casually asked him where they were thinking about going, and then he really got my attention---Africa and Thailand. Oh, boy! This was not what I had in mind.

So of course that night I needed to speak my mind to God. “Lord, I prayed for Joseph to be able to travel outside his familiar surroundings and do works for you, but I was thinking about cleaning up after a hurricane or something, not going to a violent, unknown, foreign country!”

Am I the only one who prays for God to open doors, but then wants to have control over which doors really are opened?

As a family, a church, or a business we often face very big things in our lives, and we come to Him in prayer. Often there are several outcomes available, each holding positive and negative qualities. Individuals have their own personal hopes, yet we all pray for God’s will.
It’s not easy praying for God’s will. To finally give your life fully over to God, and say “Okay, Father. I’ve decided to give this over to you—ALL the way this time. I give it over to you 100%. I have decided to go ahead and do what you want me to do. But you have to open those doors God, I don’t have the keys. I will wait, and listen for you.”

Then all of a sudden you notice doors open, windows open, gates open up wide. Some of these are doors you had not planned on walking through. It was not in your plan of your family, or your career plan, your business plan, or the church growth plan. But right and left you keep getting confirmation.

So you grab the hands of your family, or your business partner, or your Church leaders, and say, “If it’s God’s will…….” And you step forward.

If it is God’s will.

And it is certainly a struggle to not put your own will first. After all, we tend to think we know what is best for ourselves, our future. I want to trust God, but I want to do that on my terms....and I certainly do not want it to get uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable--- that is an understatement. Think of Christ on the cross. Uncomfortable? Even Christ, God the Son, prayed for God’s will to be done. And He knew precisely what was coming and how much He did NOT want to experience it. Yet He prayed for God’s will to be done.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42

Kind of puts “our terms” into perspective, doesn’t it?

What it boils down to is trust. Do we trust the maker of the heavens and the earth? The omniscient, omnipotent Lord of all? Or do we trust our own fallible, sinful, flawed selves?
There is absolutely nothing in the world more comforting, satisfying, or rewarding, than the absolute certainty that what you’re doing or living is the will of God. So why is it so hard to let go of the control and allow God’s will to happen even if we don’t know what that will mean? Or, worse, we know what it will mean but don’t think we’ll like it much.

So it really is safe to pray for a mission trip to come up, and then have faith that no matter where it leads my son, God is right there with him. I don’t have to put clauses and addendums into my prayer request. I just come to Him in faith and trust. Not an easy thing for this mother to wrap her noodle around---which points out to me where my prayer requests need to lead to next!

2 Chorinthians 12:9 promises us that God’s grace is sufficient for us. And that’s really, all we need to know. If nothing else, we can cling to that as we walk together through that open door.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,And He delights in his way. Psalm 37:23