Not my will, but yours

Great blessings belong to those who trust in the Lord, for those who do not turn to demons and false gods for help. Lord my God, you have done many amazing things! You have made great plans for us—too many to list. I could talk on and on about them, because there are too many to count. (Psalm 40:4-5)

David, the man who was acclaimed to have a "heart after God's", had a certain determination of will. David faced many "giant-sized obstacles" in his day - spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. He exhibited a determination of will that came through in each account recorded of him in scripture. David could be at the lowest point in his life from a physical perspective, strength waning, body taxed to the max, and he'd still lift his head in praise. He could be deep into the misery of depression, feeling it both physically and in the depth of his disturbed emotions, and he'd turn to God in praise, reach to him in prayer, and celebrate him in worship. He could be overcome by his own weakness and depravity of sinful deeds, but then you'd see him turning to God for help. We might not always reveal this same determination of will, choosing rather to cower in fear, give up on our pursuit, or hunker down in our depression. We should consider the power of the will when it is surrendered to the hand of a mighty and powerful God!

When I think of will-power, I imagine the ability I can muster within myself to avoid something or remain consistent with a commitment I have made. Unfortunately, it is dependent upon me and my ability. David surrendered his will time and time again to the purposes and intent of God - knowing God would take that will and use it to turn David's circumstances around. The difference is where one places their dependence - squarely upon our own shoulders, or in a source of power and might not our own. When the will is submitted to God, there is a determination of heart which brings a yielding of mind, body, and spirit to the purpose of God. Will is a driver for each of us, for what we "will" to do, we often find we at least make strides toward doing. We may not "arrive" all the way at the destination we imagined, but we get moving in that direction. Will moves us - it gives us momentum toward something. If our will is directed toward what we imagine WE can do, we tend to rely upon the source of our own physical and emotional strength. If our will is yielded into the hands of God, we tend to rely upon the strength he provides - even when ours wanes or falters.

What happens when we take our will and submit it into the hands of God? We begin to experience blessings too numerous to count. If you don't believe me, you will have to give it a try! Wherever we submit our will or turn our focus, we find there is an element of trust which enters into the picture. We determine where, what, or in whom it is we will place our trust. Will is an inanimate "thing" which actually reveals where it is we have placed our trust. It could be in our own self ability, another human being, or in the great and mighty ruler of the universe himself. Will is always linked to trust. Trust is one of the hardest things we have to get right in this walk on this earth. We struggle so much with trust because of our own failures - because we have put our faith and belief in what we WILL to do and find ourselves failing miserably time and time again at doing. We eventually get to the place we no longer trust ourselves. We struggle with trust because of the let downs that occur when we place our trust in another individual, because they have all the best of intentions, but when the rubber meets the road, they just cannot "perform" as we imagined they could. The letdown comes, and we determine we cannot trust them, either.

Will is always linked to trust, so having a solid place to put our trust is important. God isn't going to let us down, but we will never really know this until we take our will and squarely commit it to him. We yield our efforts into his hands, we commit our plans into his purposes, and we settle into realizing his best for us. Blessing comes to those who determine to make their focus God himself. Just sayin!