For His Name's Sake

Psalms 143:10-11 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For the sake of Your Name, O Lord, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.

We have an enemy that is relentless, and will not give up his attacks. He may back away for a time, when we have drawn near to the Lord, but he crouches and waits for the next opportunity to pounce. Regardless of who the physical enemy is, there is a spiritual enemy behind them. As David cries out to the Lord, and desires that God cut off his enemies, he also acknowledges that there is something he must learn in all of the turmoil. It is something that we too must learn, as we face the troubles of this life. We must learn to do God's will. It is something that we cannot do on our own. Like David, we need to cry out, "Lord, teach me to do Your will!" Like little children seeking our Father, we must humble ourselves, surrender our own will, and ask God to teach us how to submit to His will. Note that I did not say "find His will", but "submit to His will". That is because His will is found in His Word. In our flesh, and of ourselves, we do not know how to love, and we are rebellious and selfish. This is the reason we need the Lord to teach us and help us to do His will. Jesus told us that if we love Him we will obey His commandments. What He was saying was, "If you love Me, do My will." The reality of whether we will truly do all we can to do God's will is reflected in how much time we spend in God's Word, learning what His will is. The Lord has already given us His Holy Spirit to teach us, guide us, and help us walk in Him. So, today, we have all we need in order to learn God's will, and do God's will. We just need the humility to take up our cross, and surrender our will to His, every moment of every day. As we do this, we need to remember that our desire to do this is not about us and our desire not to suffer; for in this world there will always be suffering. No, our desire must be that He teaches us to do His will, for His Name's sake.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 7:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).