May21

Whatever It Takes

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There’s a voice calling me
From an old rugged tree
And He whispers draw closer to Me;
Leave this world far behind,
There are new heights to climb,
And a new place in Me you will find.

For whatever it takes to draw closer to You Lord,
That’s what I’ll be willing to do.
For whatever it takes to be more like You,
That’s what I’ll be willing to do.

Take the dearest things to me,
If that’s how it must be,
To draw me closer to Thee;
Let the disappointments come,
Lonely days without the sun,
If through sorrow more like You I become.

Take my houses, my lands,
Change my dreams, change my plans
For I’m placing my whole life in Your hands;
And if You call me today…
To a place far away
Lord I’ll go, and Your will I’ll obey.

I’ll trade sunshine for rain
Comfort for pain –
That’s what I’ll be willing to do –
For whatever it takes for my will to break,
That’s what I’ll be willing to do.

Lanny Wolfe’s song was a favorite of my dad’s.   We sang it often in church services.  Being young and impressionable, no career, husband or children at the time, it wasn’t too hard to sing.

Today? I wonder if, because I sang it so easily then, He is testing me now. I really did mean it when I prayed those words, but did I really KNOW what I was saying? I was just a kid…

Thirty+ years later, many trials past and holding fast in our current tribulation, I have drawn closer. He has allowed disappointments and lonely days. He has changed my plans many times. He took the dearest things to me. I said I would trade comfort for pain…

My will has broken…

His will be done.

I did not enjoy the losses but I DO love where I am…in Him…today.

Shall we indeed accept good from God
and not accept adversity…
Though He slay me,
yet I will trust in Him.
~Job.

24 responses »

  1. Perfect and Amen! What a wonderful place to be. The Lord does take us through a stripping process so we can clearly see what is so important. I’m so glad you are in the space you are in…I’m praying for you and yours daily! Love you! ♥ 🙂

  2. Thank you, Debs. We are in much need of prayer. The stripping can be quite a painful process but, He has His will to accomplish… ♥

  3. Thy will be done. What a short and easy sentence with such a tall order but one that brings peace and joy everlasting! It amazes me how we push for our will in some situations and later down the road recognize that our will is nowhere close to getting us to where we need to be. Praise God for His will! Left to my own devices, I would be a hot mess!
    Love you Sis XOX

  4. Michelle, my ♥ is with you 🙂

    I believe our soul, which is eternal, works in co-operation with God’s Will.

    It has it’s objectives before we take our first breath on this Earth. Those objectives are then in a continuing struggle with our earthly ‘self’ we are responsible for ‘building up’ and He is responsible for ‘stripping back down’, in order for our Original ‘intention’ to become realised – out of Spirit and into this reality. Spirit thus gains ‘experience’.

    Paul was quite a wise being – for a man.

    Mothers are often the most expert when it comes to true suffering.

    What do ‘you’ think FEEL your soul’s original intentions were???

    Has your life so far offered you the full experience required to better understand that intent? In what ways could you ‘let go’ of the things you may have accumulated that are not of that intent?

    Do you better understand something by only doing it ( positive) or learning the ‘boundaries’ – what it is ‘not’ (negative).

    letting go of ‘us’ so as to trust Him can certainly ‘test’ our level of Faith.

    I don’t believe though that our life is meant to be A test – i think He thinks we are ALL ‘worthy’ – we just have a desire to learn what and who we all are.

    Inside. 🙂

    I also think that our ‘fleshy’ mind can tend to draw to it ‘similar’ thought – good for good – bad for bad.

    Jesus wanted us to forego this ‘Old Law’ and only return Good for bad. Matthew makes this quite clear.

    He’s the Archetypal Optimist! 😉

    Or maybe the ANTI-pessimist 😀

    <B

  5. I’ll trade sunshine for rain
    Comfort for pain –
    That’s what I’ll be willing to do –
    For whatever it takes for my will to break,
    That’s what I’ll be willing to do

    So our will gets broken in the many dangers, toils, and snares and that is how we learn to lean on Him? I can’t believe I missed that all this time! 😕

    Sometimes, the 💡 just goes off when I read your blog, Michelle! 😉

  6. Good morning, Y’all! 😀

    Gchyayles – “It amazes me how we push for our will in some situations and later down the road recognize that our will is nowhere close to getting us to where we need to be.” It amazes me too. Getting out of the way and letting Him lead when we think we know so well what is “right” and yet we are SO wrong…death to self, it always seems to boil down to death to self.

    Love – Sometimes I’m not sure what you’re saying and vice versa? I do hear “death to self” in your comment…I think?

    I know I can sound a bit pessimistic…we are in the midst of a struggle we never thought we would have to endure. This time of life is not happy or optimistic or FUN…it’s sad and very painful. We do feel we have been “slain” and yet we WILL trust. My optimism lies in my God being bigger and able to see us through. Some days it is a sacrifice to praise…I’m not able to dance before the Lord in praise, I’m somewhere with David in the midst of grief, I’m prostrate most days. I know the sun will shine again…right now, I’m banking on the promises that He will not crush a bruised reed.

  7. Yes Michelle! Death to self is exactly what it’s about! And that is not an easy process at all but He says His yoke is easy and He does not lie so we continue to trust that while the process is not easy the result of everlasting life certainly is 🙂

    I don’t know what you’re going through right now but I praise God for your faith. Your faith encourages me. I was in the valley for a long time before my wedding. I wasn’t sure about God’s will. I was doubting promises that had been made, wondering if they really were God’s will for my life. I was having a hard time hearing His voice. I felt so isolated from God but I continued to seek Him. I continued to pray. I continued to sing praise songs. I continued to worship Him. Then one day I was praise dancing and God’s voice became audible. He said “Even though you walk through the shadow of the valley of death, you fear no evil for I AM with you. My rod and staff, they comfort you.”

    Being inside the valley can sometimes be a better place of refuge in the Lord for us than outside of it. The valley is where Isaac’s servants found fresh water. The valley was where God’s people found refuge from the enemies that were seeking to kill them. The valley is where the flowing streams and new, undiscovered land is. The valley is a place for visions. The valley is a place of revelation. The valley is where decisions are made! Hang in that valley my sister. The Lord will bring you out changed and sharpened! I love you XOX

  8. Michelle,
    I still see the “Son” shining when I look in your direction no matter what cloud you see yourself under. Keep your chin up.
    God’s love and peace to you.
    -Sam

  10. ♥ Sis 🙂

    GC said it very well. I was being a tad ‘cryptic’ huh?

    One of my prime thoughts was that, being human, we can sometimes tend to get caught up in certain experiences and have the power to reinforce the direction ( good or bad) those experiences are leading us in. I was hoping that you would not ‘add’ to your suffering unnecessarily.

    Another thought (firm belief) i wanted to share was that before our life begins, God and our soul ‘have a plan’ for us. In the act of birth and our formative years we may create things (ways of understanding/relating to this earth) that make this plan ‘difficult’ to realise – make Real.

    It is to these things that are geting in our ‘original’ way/plan that i believe we are to ‘die’ – the death of our ‘built-up’ self – that we may continue to make real God’s Plan for us.

    We ARE more powerful than we understand – God made us creators in his image (although having nowhere near as much power over ‘all’ as He has).

    Some of the things we create do not honour Him. Some of them we love more than we should and it hurts letting go of them.

    We have to decide which means more to us – Him or ‘us’.

    God will help ‘guide’ our choices if we listen to Him in the quiet times.

    Did that make any more sense?? 🙂

    <B

  11. “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity…Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him. ~Job.”

    Amen.

    Michelle – i know you and i have much in common. and i must tell you that you inspire me so incredibly much with your seemingly instant ability to speak truth and praise God first off and foremost!

    I was talking to Darla earlier, and like her, you know where to go right away! Run to Him. Press into Him. rely completely on Him.

    I know there are many trials and it hasn’t been pleasant but all I can “see” now is the most beautiful piece of shining gold! God has done Great things!

  12. I hear you, Love,

    “One of my prime thoughts was that, being human, we can sometimes tend to get caught up in certain experiences and have the power to reinforce the direction ( good or bad) those experiences are leading us in. I was hoping that you would not ‘add’ to your suffering unnecessarily.”

    Me too, I hope that I will not. I have this tendency, as you well know. I continue to read Scripture and pray to stay above the questions and negativity. The Spirit is good to bring to mind truths I can stand firmly upon. ♥ U

    Thanks, Tam, for your words. I see the dross so clearly and keep asking for it to be taken away – then He turns up the fire some more…It’s a process I crave and fight simultaneously. 😐 😉

    The Refiner’s fire has now become my sole desire – purged and cleansed and purified – that the Lord will be glorified…He is consuming my soul, refining me, making me whole – No matter what I may lose, I choose the Refiner’s fire. ~Steve Green

  15. amen, and amen… even though He slay me…total submission to HIS will, sometimes there is no other choice..although some would say I do..but knowing HIM seems to take those choices away…sort of like going back to Egypt isn’t an option

  16. I’m glad to know that now our minds are a bit more ‘in synch’ again 🙂

    Try to remember that we ARE powerful beings of His Creation (we have power over our own lives – and sometimes over others also) It is important to our relationship with Him though that we not let that power work against our common goal. (by ‘our’ i mean yours and His/mine and His/theirs and His)

    He wants a relationship with us. We would not have one person in a relationship use their power to work against it – but to each build it up.

    WE choose to rely upon His greater knoledge to our common good but we should not forget our power in our relationship and ensure it is not ‘borrowed’ by an adversary.

    Guard yourself in Him and learn how best to use your own power, to His Will, lest it be used against it.

    Being ever humble in Spirit. 🙂

    love you Sis.

    <B

  18. Good evening, Love, I haven’t seen you around here this early in quite some time. I usually get to wake up to your comments. 😉

    I’m hearing you say the same as Galatians 5…warring between the Spirit and the flesh. I believe when I give into my fleshly desires of self-pity and resentment, instead of keeping my mind on the Spirit’s fruits that are available to me, I’ve given the adversary a foothold.

    Not allowing bitterness to take root by holding grudges or asking “why”, but walking with the Spirit moment by moment is the keeping power I choose. 🙂

    Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. ~1John 4:4

  19. “For whatever it takes for my will to break,
    That’s what I’ll be willing to do.”

    What a comment concerning the nature of the human will! Sin so corrupted human will that it takes an act of God upon our will to cause us to even choose Christ as Savior and Lord! Of course, that brings up the question: “How ‘free’ is human will in it’s natural state?

  20. Good question, Dan.

    The debate over our choice vs. His will is a puzzler to me. I know He says “Come unto me” AND “you did not choose me, but I chose you.”

    I must rest in His sovereignty…and humble thankfulness that I am His.

    (I’ve missed seeing you around here — still praying — are you still preaching?)

  21. The first time I heard this song, it really strucked me. I asked, “What if these things are already happening into my life, will I still be able to give Him my unrestricted praised?”
    …then disppointments came…
    …and I answered yes. Although there are difficult parts, God soveriegnly fulfilled His promise to heal the brokenhearted. He is to be praised ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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