LUKE’S CHRISTMAS GOSPEL OF JESUS: A 30-Day Christmas-Time Devotional.

Yahweh: His Way or Mine? 

Luke 1: 38 (MsgB) 

[38] And Mary said, “Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her.

I often kid people when I make the statement that God is “pro-choice.”

What I mean by that is not that God wholeheartedly agrees with those who choose abortion, but that, indeed, God has firmly decided, long before the creation of time, that He will give all men and women ‘free choice’ or ‘free will’ when it comes to making decisions about their lives.

In His deep wisdom, as He lovingly created the human race, God determined that He would not create a breed of robots that must follow His will without any choice. No, just the opposite was His intent. In truth, He loves us so much, He made us in His image, allowing us the freedoms of choice and free will.

That way, each of us could choose for ourselves whether or not we would follow His lead, willingly submitting our lives to His loving authority, choosing His good desires and interests over ours.

As C.S. Lewis once commented, “Ultimately, there are only two kinds of people in the world. Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, your will be done.’”

Luke paints a picture here that Mary is one of those rare people who knows immediately that, when given the opportunity of choice, she would quickly respond, “ Yes, Lord . . . may Your will be done. I’m ready to serve.”

Today, when given the opportunity to choose our will over His, how will we decide?  In an age of ‘free choice,’ which choices will you and I make when it comes to deciding which way we want our lives to be lived out?

As one writer put it, will it be ‘my way,’ or ‘the highway,’ or will we choose ‘Yah-weh?’

My prayer: Thank You, Lord, that You refused to make robots that had no choice in life. Certainly You have taken a huge risk in making room for choice and free will, especially when You already knew many of us would continually choose to take our lives into our own hands, submitting to only our own selfish desires and interests. But, thank You for the choices you give us and thank You, even more, that You come to us, like You did Mary, and offer us choices that will align us with Your perfect will and plans for our lives. May I, by the powerful indwelling of Your Spirit, willingly choose today to follow Your will. For Your name’s sake. Amen.

My questions to ponder: So, as I look back upon my life, where have I taken my life choices and made willing decisions to walk it out my way versus God’s way? What consequences have there been in making such self-consumed decisions? How can I be more aware of the daily choices God allows me to make, choosing willingly to follow His direction versus insisting on my own way?

So what is God speaking to you today? Are you practicing the Kingdom presence of God?

We hope you’ll enjoy these 30 blogs that walk you through 30 days of Advent (Nov 26 – Dec 25). Here’s the homepage for the entire series.

If you like what you’re reading, might we suggest you share this page with others!

Click here to continue your Advent readings…