Daily Word

You do not exist for your own sake—for your own happiness, success, and so on. You are not the goal of your life, nor of salvation; Christ is. One day, all of creation will manifest and reflect Him. This is the Father’s original purpose and goal—and it is one He never abandons!

God employs all sorts of methods—sometimes even strange ones—to mold us into the image of His Son. His ways are often difficult for us to comprehend, leaving us to wonder why we must go through certain experiences.

When God deals with us, there are primarily two ways we might try to escape or save ourselves. One is self-pity: “Why is my life so difficult and painful, while others seem to breeze through theirs?” The other is defiance: “Why are You doing this, God? I’m fed up!”

God is absolutely sovereign and does not consult you or me. He is uniquely personal and does not treat any two people the same way. So, when you are going through a difficult time—keep your mouth shut and let Him do His work; otherwise, you will only make things worse!

One of His peculiar methods could be called “the jolt”: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense.” Jesus came, and what He said and did ran directly counter to the Jews’ long-established traditions, ways of thinking, and expectations. They were upset and offended (Rom.9:32-33).

In the same way, the Lord might position Himself right across your path like an immovable rock, bringing everything to an abrupt halt. Things happen that you do not like, or He asks you to do something you absolutely do not want to do. It goes against all your own calculations, and you become offended and sulky: “I don’t want to!”

The Lord asks you to surrender your own will and exchange it for the humble will of the Lamb—He who said "yes" to everything the Father desired, even when it ran counter to all His own thoughts and feelings, and when His entire being cried out against it.

The best thing you can do is to come to Him who is "gentle and lowly in heart" and allow His Spirit to reshape your heart, so that you begin to respond just as He does.