God Rewards Submission

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39 NLT

When I was a teenager, there was someone who needed to hear some words from me. I’m sure that person didn’t think so, but I was determined to have my say. My first attempt was unsuccessful but I didn’t allow that to stop me. When I failed the second time, I thought for a moment that maybe it was not something God wanted me to do. Then I said, “No escape!”  I forged ahead and had my say. When I got older, and reflected on that event, I thought that whole incident was just crazy.  It was crazy because I chose to go my own way, although I felt God leading me in a different direction.

When I look at the verse above, I can see the desire to take a different course of action. But, Jesus didn’t allow the pain of what lay ahead of Him, to cause Him to chart a different course. He submitted to the will of the Father, and was determined to go to the cross, so He could pay the price for man’s sin. Romans 5:19 says, “Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.” There are benefits from submission; we can become righteous before God, because Jesus died and paid the price for the sin of the world.

At seventeen, I missed the mark; I was determined to have my own way. That was the same attitude that caused man to disobey God, and plunged mankind into sin. It’s easy to point fingers at others but if we take an inward look, we would find that same disobedience in us. Isaiah 53:6 says, ”All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” Jesus submitted to the will of the Father so that we can be made righteous.

Thought for Today: Friend, let’s submit, to the will of God.

Have a blessed day and walk in faith and victory