Aligning my will with God's will.

[MG]

2 Samuel 18
32And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.

33And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!

2 Samuel 19
5And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;

6In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.

7Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the LORD, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.


A coyote killed both my cats this week. I had them for 8 years. I was heart broken. I found myself once again wrestling in front of God fighting the attack on his character. I was thinking about how cruel nature is and wondering how God could allow evil and cruelty.

I listened to Ray's audio on doing the will of God. Thinking of my cats and listening to the tape made me think of David losing Absolom and how God demanded that David align his will with God's will with his people even though he just lost his son. I know that God is asking me to align my will with his will even through this painful situation with the loss of my cats. The more I grow the harder the lessons and much more is required. In the past I've accepted God's will in my life, but this time he is asking me to agree with it in my mind and heart. It's a tough lesson.

[Kat]

Hi MG,

I too have pets that I love very much, and I have lost pets too.
I do sympathize with you, on how hard it is.
To lose a beloved pet, suddenly is difficult.
Time does help easy the pain.

2Ch 20:9  If evil comes on us, whether the sword, judgment, or plague, or famine, and we stand before this house and in Your presence (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our affliction, then You will hear and help.

mercy, peace, and love
Kat

[gmik]

MG so sorry for your loss! I live in an area where we don't have coyotes(I don't think) so that sounds really tragic!

I do love your point about accepting God's will vs. aligning or agreeing with it.  A good study topic.

Kat that was a great scripture. I didn't remember it, but it is a good one.

Hope you are OK MG.

love,
gena

[mongoose]

MG, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss.

mongoose

[hillsbororiver]

MG,

I too am a cat owner and cat lover, my heart went out to you when I read your post. It is incredibly heartbreaking to lose our pets, I have been through it too many times, but that is what happens as you get to be my age............

May He give you His Peace and Comfort,

Your Brother,

Joe

[chuckusa]

MG,

Sorry to hear that. It hurts, I know.

I lost a big Lab/Setter that was the sweetest animal I've ever seen. I still miss him ten years later. I always thought that if he was a person, we would have been best friends, and I guess we sort of were. I really did love that big silly dog.

My heart goes out to you MG...thanks for sharing all of that with us.

Your brother,Chuck

[ned]

In the past I've accepted God's will in my life, but this time he is asking me to agree with it in my mind and heart. It's a tough lesson.

Dear MG,
My heart goes out to you. Remember that God will never have you endure more than what you can handle.  You will grow strong from this tough lesson. Be of comfort, Jesus is with you.
Love & strength to you,
Marie

[Beloved]

Sorry to hear about your cats MG. I do not have any pets right now but I have had cats and dogs as pets in the past.

I hope ypu do not take this in the wrong way. I certainly know that it is heart wrenching to have to deal with the cruelty of this world but..... that is why we are here.  None of us have yet learned how to love unconditionally and totally.  Christ has to work this in us.   The cats were enjoying their freedom out in nature  and doing what cats do and unfortunately .....so was the Cyote.  In a way they are a meaphor of life.   

I pray that God will strengthen and comfort you during this sad event


                                                             these two reminded me of my two cats
              

Beloved

[longhorn]

Animals are a part of God's creation, I think God has some GREAT Surprises in store for all his children.  I think we will see them again, maybe not in the way we think, but he would not have put them in our lives if it wasn't meant to be.  Just a country boy's opinion.

Love in Christ

Longhorn

[MG]

Thank you all so much.

[TimothyVI]

I have cried like a baby when any of my pets have died.
It does feel like a member of your family is gone.

I think that God, in His infinite wisdom has allowed us to have  this bond with animals that live only a fraction
of the time that we live, so that we can learn how to survive the death of another.
Many of us have indured the death of multiple pets before we experience
the death of a human loved one.

Tim

[hillsbororiver]

Animals are a part of God's creation, I think God has some GREAT Surprises in store for all his children.  I think we will see them again, maybe not in the way we think, but he would not have put them in our lives if it wasn't meant to be.  Just a country boy's opinion.

Love in Christ

Longhorn

 


Amen Brother,

A sparrow doesn't fall without the knowledge of the Father.............

Yes, I can see ALL His creation being reconciled,

Great thought Longhorn,

Joe

[gmik]

I was listening to Ray's tape #2 from the conference and he was talking about his cats with love and pride.  He said you can't look at that beautiful tabby's face and not see God. It was nice to hear him talk about them!

gena

[dcfreedom]

as a child i watched my puppy run out in the road and get hit by a car and i had to burry him shotly after. last year the day before my birthday i lost my older brother to a motorcycle accident. this year i am about to lose my father because his body is shutting down. i do know how you feel my friend, more than you know. what i have learned is this. it is not so much aligning your will with God's because you are already doing God's will no matter what is going on in your life. what has the pot have to say to the potter, why have you made me this way, or what right do we have to question anything God does. as i watch my family through all of this all i hear is we need to make peace with my dad and nothing mentioned about making peace with God. as jesus said to the young man let the dead burry the dead. yea i cried like a little baby when my puppy died and i have my moments now and then when i think of my brother and my dad. through all of this i am sure of one thing my hope, peace, and life are in christ. if my thoughts stay with my brother or my dad there will i die. i do not want to die i want to live. the things of this earth will soon pass away but the love of God will last forever. it is there my treasure lies.
i do not mean to be gloomy but sometimes there are things we do not understand why they happen. sometimes we need the absticles taken from in front of our eyes so that we can focus on christ. as you can see i have thought about this  a long time. i too have asked my questions. the answer i got was christ is all i need. the closer we get to God the more removed from the world we feel. also the more love we feel. sorry about the long post but i could talk about this for hours. so my friend not to worry God is in control and he loves you very much. he wants you for himself.
                                                                 your friend in christ, dave

[MG]

Thank you for your kind words Dave and God bless you.

I lost my father in 1998 and it was very hard. My prayers go out to you.

My mother is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's and she is losing her memory. She knows she can't remember things and she is afraid and it hurts to see her like that.


I think what God is teaching me now through this is that his will and his purpose does not make me a victim. If I believe that God is good then I should agree that all that God causes is good according to his plan and purpose. I think God is moving me away from feeling victimized by his plan and moving me into believing that all is a part of the plan and his plan is good. 

The scripture you used "what has the pot have to say to the potter, why have you made me this way, or what right do we have to question anything God does" even makes it clearer to me.

Each pot is created to fulfill the purpose and plan of God. Every circumstance is designed to fulfill God's will and purpose and plan. I went through a time when I questioned how God can choose to call some out and not others when we are all equally loved and all equally sinners. He doesn't choose us for who we are. He made us who we are and raised us up for the very purpose we serve in his plan. He created us to be called out in this age.

This is the very thing that shows me there is no hell. How can it be just to choose who goes to heaven and who goes to hell when we are all made exactly who we are to fulfill his purpose? If we have broken the least of the commandments we are guilty of breaking all of them. That puts us all on equal ground as far as law breakers and the penalty is death. God called us out to be saved (being saved) in this age. It is not our choice and we can't make that choice. 

John 15:16
Ye did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that ye should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide:

Romans 9:16-18
16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Matthew 4
18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.

Matthew 9:9
And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Ephesians 1:8-10
8Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

2 Timothy 1
10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began

[YellowStone]

Dave and MG,

Your posts were wonderful and I can relate to each of them very well.

I can see that you both fully understand the words of:

Rev 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

It is more than coming out of the building or leaving the fellowship, far more. It is the coming out of the worldly constraints, ideals, traditions, formalities, etc. So many ask in anger and desperation: "Why God, why did you let this happen?" goodness knows that I have asked it myself, when really we should be asking: What God, what is the lesson in this for me?

How much easier it becomes to love, when you take the "me" out of the world.

Does that make sense?

Love to you both and all.

Darren