Are You Resigned to God’s Will When You Pray?
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 (ESV)
Recently, I spent the day helping a young friend whom I mentor re-decorate a room in her house. One of the last tasks we had for the day was to hang something on the wall. She brought out a picture she had painted herself. It was perfect for the spot, but it had a minor imperfection that would almost certainly go unnoticed by anyone else. She balked at using it because she said she spends a lot of time in that room and the imperfect picture would bother her every time she was in the room.
After hanging it as a placeholder, she firmly declared that she would replace it later.
How do you react to continual annoyances? You may not be hanging barely flawed pictures on a wall, but you are probably familiar with minor imperfections in an otherwise satisfactory experience or environment. Maybe your spouse or significant other has one terribly annoying trait among a wonderful disposition. Perhaps you have a temporary but frustrating physical impairment such as a broken bone or dietary restriction that sours your normally positive mood. Or maybe a single required task at work disrupts your satisfaction in an otherwise perfect job. If only these small details could be eliminated, your life would be so much better.
When my young friend and I took a break, I shared an idea with her. I recommended that she keep the picture on the wall and use it as a reminder to trust God with her frustration.
“It doesn’t work like that,” she exclaimed!
I knew what she meant, because I’ve been there, and my guess is you have, too. When we are routinely triggered by something that upsets our usual disposition, we might pray with the idea that God would swoop in and fix things. He could remove our perfectionist tendencies, heal our temporary aches, or change the behavior of those who bother us. But that’s a shortsighted request that limits God’s work in our lives.
While God could step in and save us, sometimes he chooses to sanctify us.
The word sanctify means, “to grow in holy ways”.
We become better versions of ourselves when God sanctifies us because it pushes us to depend on Him. Instead of removing an irritant in our lives, we need to repeatedly ask Him how to cope with and deal with the unwanted intrusion in our lives.
In the case of my young friend and the nearly but not quite perfect painting, God might use that annoyance to help her overcome perfectionist tendencies, see the beauty in imperfection, or point her to the bigger picture – in this case, attending to the needs of the soon-to-arrive little occupant, not a perfectly decorated setting. These are only guesses on my part, as I can’t fathom the mind of God, but I know from experience that He has good reasons for ignoring what seems to be a holy prayer request.
Our dependency on God creates deeper intimacy with Him because we experience His power and provision as we trust Him to help us, even when we can’t understand.
Growing in holiness isn’t easy. It requires more work on our part than a simple and quick rescue, but the result is a lot more rewarding.
The question is, how surrendered are you? When you pray about these irritations in your life, are you respectfully resigned to His will, or are expecting a rescue?
One trusts His authority and the other wants to wield His authority to suit your will.
If you’re feeling resistant to the possibility that God might choose to sanctify, instead of rescue, you, tell him. Confess your reluctance and ask him to help you trust Him. It’s an excellent place to start and a prayer that could powerfully impact your life.
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13 (ESV)