But, I think we sometimes forget that being a follower rather than a fan doesn't mean that Christ expects perfectness. But, he does expect that we be authentic. And being authentic starts with our relationship with Him. That authenticity begins on ours knees in humble submission to our Lord, praying for His will to be done, for His guidance, for the Fruits of the Holy Spirit to come alive in us.
When Christ is in great distress, off by himself in the garden on the night of his arrest, he offers amazing authenticity to the Father saying, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39). Christ, in a vulnerable state, unarguably requests for "this cup to be taken from [him]" yet immediately after that states "Yet not as I will, but as you will." Do we want the Father's will or do we want our own will? When we pray, do we tell God a, b, and c. Do we talk about how we're doing, what we need, what we want? If so, that's fine. But, how is it possible to discern God's will for our lives when we fill our "conversations" with God with our own voices? Do we allow God the chance to intervene? Do we wait patiently for an answer or do we just figure He is mute to our prayers?
I find it fitting that we started off the staff devotionals with prayer because it ought to be the first thing we do when we wake up, not just at home, but out on the water as well. In fact, we find that that first prayer we pray in the morning, on our knees, alone on the floor of the back room, at the table in front, in the kitchen, or on the back deck, is the prayer that energizes us for the day to come. Without that morning prayer, that morning devotion, that morning hang-out with the Lord one-on-one, we quickly find that our strength becomes depleted by the end of morning ski-runs, if not earlier. Why? Because we're running on our own strength! And, let's face it, after many late nights, early mornings, 100 degree days, 8 hours in the ski boat, and deep conversations with campers, your energy is instantly drained! Morning prayer with the Lord is key to finding needed strength for the day. And, it's not just "Lord, give me strength." It's "Lord, your will be done!" It's "Lord, I don't know what you have in store for me today, but whatever it is, Your will be done!" It's "Lord, the stakes might pull out/the anchor might come loose, the ski boat may have trouble working, the houseboat's battery might die (a lot), it might rain, the Mikey might fill up, BUT YOUR WILL BE DONE!" The minute it becomes about our own will is the minute we lose vision. The minute it becomes "my boat", "my campers", "my room", "my week", is the minute we lose sight. Maybe it's more than my summer. It's God's summer.
As I look toward this summer and know that I will not be out on the water a lot, I am reminded that its not about me. Life goes on when I'm not around. Campers come to Christ when I'm not around. The houseboats run when I'm not around. That's because none of this runs on my will, but on the will of our Father. And as long as it's our Father's will for the houseboats to run, the ski boats to work, the churches to come, the lake to have water, the Delta... to be the Delta, then it will happen! And none of that is dependent on whether or not our will is done. It is all dependent on the Father's will. And that's why we pray, "Your kingdom come, YOUR WILL BE DONE, on Earth as it is in Heaven."
Let's be reminded that we are merely pieces of clay and God is the potter. I have to remind myself this all the time. I have to tell my clay-self and all of my other clay-friends that we are just clay... and it is really not possible for us to know the entire will of the Potter! But, he has this plan. He is molding my other clay-friends on the other side of the pot, but how am I to know that? How am I to know if he is going to reshape me, flatten me out, move me to another side of the pot, or put me on another piece of pottery altogether? He has the blueprint. We are merely the ink on the paper and he is the Pencil.
So, I hope that as we pray for this Summer, as we pray for campers, as we pray about our lives, our friends, our families, that we do it all with a humble respect for the Lord's will, remembering that it is not our will but His will be done.
In light of Resurrection Sunday, I hope we remember that Christ did not want to have to endure suffering, did not want to have his back lashed tens of times, did not want to have to carry the burden of the cross, or even hang there for several hours until he was finally freed... but, on the other hand, He did. Because he wanted the Father's will to be done no matter what the cost. And that cost was his life. So, as we go about our prayer lives and discern God's calling for our lives, my prayer is that we remember the suffering of our Lord and his amazing willingness to suffer the worst kind of pain... for us. And that in respect, in humility, in love, we pray to God saying "Your will be done, Father." Do with my life what you please, because it is you I am serving."
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