"...your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." -Matthew 6:10
"He has promised, saying, 'yet once more I shake not only the earth but also heaven.' No this, 'yet once more indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain." -Hebrews 12:26
When we pray, I believe we want God's will to be done. We know his will is good. We have heard it and read of it. If we look deeper, though, sometimes we want our will to be done. I think that our expectations are most of the time what "I" want or "I" deserve. We are not looking to change ourselves to match up to God's will. We are looking for God to match our situations up to our will.
"We are not looking to change ourselves to match up to God's will.
We are looking for God to match our situations up to our will."
Here is what happens. We pray. Then, we look around. We see nothing has changed according to our prayers. The person you are looking forward to change hasn't changed. The situation hasn't changed. Most of the time it gets worse. It feels like the earth is shaking around you. You are stumbling because you have mentally prepared for what you envision to change. You have set your mind on where your foot will step next according to your expectations. But when you step, that solid ground is not there. Frustration and fear sets hold inside.
This can cause several ways of reacting for you. One reaction is anger because you did not get what you wanted. Another reaction is the poor pitiful me perspective, again, because you did not get your way. Another reaction is the state of reevaluation. Ask yourself, why do I not see what I expected? Don't look at anyone else, but yourself. Blaming another because you expected one outcome and got another is not the solution.
When things are shaken, God is using this as an opportunity to shake out what is temporary on the inside of you. In the middle of shaking what is temporary, the unshakable remains. The unshakable is what holds up in the storm. When everything seems to be shattering, it does not shatter.
"When things are shaken, God is using this as an opportunity to
shake out what is temporary on the inside of you. In the middle of shaking what is temporary, the unshakable remains."
Retreating in anger and fear does not cause you to move through the storm. Having a mindset that no matter what comes, I have everything in me to move through is what moves you through. Instead of stepping on the unsolid ground, you are stepping on a sure solid ground. That solid ground is the "I am". It is Jesus, the rock. He holds you up. His will, not ours. His way, not ours.
Reevaluate yourself, not the situation. Don't let yourself crumble every time "your world" is shaken. I put quotations around your world because this is not your world. If you are a believer, your world is the kingdom of heaven. All of this will be shaken away when Jesus comes back.
So this unshakable world should not be where we find our peace and strength and purpose. God's will is where we do that. Upon Jesus is where we are sure-footed and stable.
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