My will or Thy will?

Every one has hopes, dreams and desires.  Christians seek to honor God and glorify His name.  How do we know what belongs to God's will or my will?  Lutheran catecheses teaches that what God has promised to do we need not pray, if it be your will.  Things like forgiveness and salvation fall into this category.  God forgives sins through Jesus Christ.  He has won salvation for us through His Son's death, resurrection and ascension.  The Lord wants all to be saved and to come to the Truth.  His will is clear in these matters.

What about those things for which God has not revealed His will?  Specifically, how should we pray regarding those hopes, dreams and desires that we have?  Is what I am requesting for the benefit of others or me?  Does it glorify God?  Is it in harmony with the Ten Commandments?  So far so good.  But what if everything you do in pursuit of your desire ends with frustration?  Here is where we might be harboring an idol under the guise of doing God's work.  For instance, promising God a healthy percentage of lottery winnings does not make the lottery something good for you.  Winnings may lead to temptations and evils you cannot imagine now.  God cannot be bribed with the promise of future proceeds if He lets you hit it big.

Are you willing to place your hopes, dreams, desires and aspirations before the Lord?  Are you willing for Him to recreate, redeem and sanctify you and them to be in accordance with His will?  That which you withhold from God and are unwilling to let Him have His way is an idol.  It is painful when these are exposed in our lives.  It is much easier to point out the idols in the lives of others while protecting our own.  Ultimately the Lord will cast every idol from its throne, for He is God and He alone.  It is better to lay them at His feet in repentance and to live in His forgiveness.

The Lord has your best interests at heart.  He who sought your soul's salvation is not about to give up on you easily.  He desires to bring you through this life to Himself in heaven.  He knows what is best for us in any situation.  He has both short and long term in mind.  He sees the big picture, the eternal one.  Commit your way to the Lord.  Trust in Him.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday (Psalm 37:5-6).  May His will be done in my life and yours!