Apples of Gold

Have you ever asked God to direct you by blocking your path if you were headed down the wrong road, only to find yourself temporarily upset that he did? I know I have. It’s almost as though I had my spiritual fingers crossed behind my back as I dutifully prayed- “Not my will but yours be done”. While my heart longs to please God and fulfill his plan rather than my own, sometimes the roadblocks still take me by surprise and the momentary realization that this answer was perhaps not what I had hoped for, even if it was what I asked for, can take time to absorb.

Jesus teaches us to pray with indifference. That sounds odd. Aren’t we supposed to pray with passion and expectation? Well, yes but heeding Jesus’ direction can save us some serious heartache.

The Lord’s Prayer is so familiar that many of us can say it from memory. Yet, how often do we apply Jesus’ teaching in our prayers? Tucked into that prayer we find these words:

May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

Of course we want God’s will, except when we don’t. Sometimes God’s will includes disappointment, suffering, hardship, persecution, even isolation. Sometimes it involves not getting our own way. This should not surprise us-yet it often does.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-4

I don’t often find myself jumping for joy when trouble is headed my way. But like Pollyanna and her “Glad Game”, Scripture admonishes us to accept the challenge to find the good in every situation. In the middle of the tough stuff we need to remember that God is allowing us to struggle so that we can mature.

A story attributed to Henry Miller expresses this concept well. He tells of a young boy who approached a Guru who was looking at a butterfly in it’s cocoon. The boy asked if he could have it and the Guru answered; “Yes, but you must promise me one thing first, that when the Chrysalis begins to split open and the butterfly is making it’s first attempt to come out, that you do not help it in any way.”

The boy agreed and went home. When the butterfly began to break out of it’s cocoon it appeared frantic during the struggle. The boy couldn’t resist helping free the butterfly. The rescued butterfly attempted to fly but fell to the ground and died. When the boy returned to the Guru and asked what happened he was told that the struggle the butterfly faced breaking free was designed to help the muscles necessary for flying to develop so that it would be strong enough to fly. By assisting the boy had actually caused the butterfly to perish.

We might wonder why God doesn’t immediately rescue us as we fight frantically in our situation. Roadblocks are designed to prepare us for whatever is coming our way. Like the boy, we might think a shortcut, a miraculous intervention, or an inviting path is the best answer-the prayer of indifference helps realign us with divine direction. When God chooses not to break open our cocoon we can be assured there is a good reason.

Some teach that cleverly crafting our words can trap God into being forced to comply with our will. Not only is this not biblical but in my mind it is reckless. Why? If we truly believe that God is always working for our good and that His ways are better than ours; asking him to change his plan could have disastrous results. Even if we could change His plan- would we really want to? What if we prayed away the very thing God had designed for our good? Easier? Could be, at least temporarily. Better? Not a chance!

The Lord’s Prayer isn’t the only place we find Jesus guiding us in this area.

He gave us a beautiful, powerful example when he was facing the cross:

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Luke 22:42

We enthusiastically and gratefully rejoice that the will of the Father was what Jesus wanted. The longer I follow Jesus the more I find myself wanting to pray the prayer of indifference. Time after time my personal desires would have taken me down the wrong path. What I thought I wanted could have brought destruction and heartache.

Father please help us follow Christ’s example and truly desire your will in our lives, even when it hurts. May we find true joy in knowing that you are always working for our good. Protect us from ourselves and attempting to fulfill our own desires rather than hungering after your path.

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. John 3:30