Not My Will But Yours
ICS Daily Devotions
Luke 2:49, 51 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”…Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.
Submission means to yield oneself voluntarily to the authority or control of another; to surrender. Jesus demonstrated that He submitted to both the instructions of the Heavenly Father and those of His earthly parents in this passage. It is truly a sign of humility. One must lay down their rights and privileges to submit. While we may share our opinions and views with those to whom we are to submit, we should still submit to them even when their decision differs from ours, because submission is necessary only when there is a disagreement. No submission is required when we fully agree.
As disciples of Christ, we should submit to the Lordship of Christ in His will for our lives— in the consecrated life of godliness, and in obeying the governing authorities.
John 4:34 (NKJV) Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
Jesus is our perfect example of submitting to God’s will and resisting the flesh’s desires that go against God’s plan. Jesus understood His mission on earth and God’s will for His life. Everything He did aligned with what God had planned for Him. Jesus, being 100% man and 100% God, was overwhelmed with sorrow over what He had to endure. The pain was so intense that He shed blood. Nonetheless, Jesus remained submissive to God by praying to the Father about God’s will. He was following God’s plan, which involved paying a price. Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane with two conflicting wills but left with only one—the will of the Father.
Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
God uniquely and wonderfully makes us. We have gifts and talents that God has given us since He is the master craftsman. Are we walking in obedience and submitting to God’s will for our lives, or are we still carnal and self-centred, living according to our desires and preferences? Are we telling God how we want Him to bless us based on our own plans, or do we take time to seek God’s face to understand His purpose and guidance for our lives?
Are we guiding our children as young as age 12 to understand God’s calling for their lives, or are we only preparing them to succeed academically, in sports, or in music, without considering their walk with God and His plan for them?
Sermon Series: Christmas 2025
