LCMI - Whatever Blesses You, Lord

Whatever Blesses You, Lord
By Mike Rule

"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!" Psalm 103:1

One thing that the Lord has been teaching me is to be more yielded to Him in all areas of life. For example, we recently took a family vacation to the Rocky Mountains of western New Mexico to hunt elk with Becky’s parents. During our vacation I found myself in several situations where my anxiety level would begin to rise within me. Here is what I mean:

As most of you are aware, this past year has been difficult for us, and we have made several futile attempts to have a family vacation. This time away was a gift from God as we were all emotionally and physically tired. It was almost too good to be true that we were going to have a break. We were only a few miles from home when we began to notice that our vehicle was intermittently making a very strange sound. The further we went, the more pronounced the sound became. While discussing what to do about the problem I found myself becoming annoyed that our vacation was only beginning and we were already facing the possibility of delays due to car trouble. The decision about what to do was not easy, and as we weighed all the possibilities I heard a still small Voice whisper, "Trust Me." I envisioned spending hours in a repair shop waiting room only to have them tell us they could not isolate our trouble. On the other hand, we were going to be traveling late into the night and through some desolate parts of the country. A breakdown late at night in one of those regions could be even more frustrating. Again the still small Voice whispered, "Trust Me."

As we worked through our options, we decided to keep driving with an ear tuned into the noise to see if it got any worse, but I had an unsettling feeling inside. The negative emotions from our previous vacation attempts kept nagging at me, and I realized that I didn’t feel that I could trust God in this issue. I wanted this vacation to go the way I wanted it to, and I was unwilling to accept whatever God’s agenda might be. As I wrestled with God over my self-centeredness He brought to mind Psalm 103:1 and asked the question, "Are you willing to accept whatever blesses Me the most, Mike?" I felt something die within me as I realized that He knows what is best. My answer to His question leapt up with joy from within me: "Whatever blesses You, Lord; whatever blesses You!"

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus struggled with this same question: what I want, or what God wants? Jesus’ response also brought Him peace and joy, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done." Luke 22:42

As you face the issues of your day you may also hear the Lord asking you this question, "Will you insist on your way, or will you accept whatever blesses Me the most?"

Prayer: "Father, this day we are going to face things we don’t want to face. We may be in situations we don’t want to be in. Lord, we want to be willing to embrace the Spirit of your Son Jesus and yield to Him so we can say in ALL things, ‘Whatever blesses You, Lord; whatever blesses You. Amen.’"