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We must trust God’s will, not our own

October

October is my birthday month. Since having a disappointing birthday long ago, I have
taken the bull by the horns and plan a different way to celebrate. Rather than the
traditional birthday cake party, I combine my love for friendships with my birthday
celebration. I’ve started already by contacting those whom I have not seen for a while,
and we meet for a meal. My birthday present is seeing them and hearing what has
happened in their lives.
As we all know, friendly conversations sometimes bring out underlying problems that
are troubling us and can turn into a counseling session, which is fine with me. I enjoy
coaching, counseling and consulting; that is why they became my professions.
I’ve been hearing about some very similar situations: family problems. They go
something like this:
Words were spoken out of kindness “for the good of a person” but were taken
defensively by the family member.
A woman was concerned because her sister and she were drifting apart. After
talking, it became clear that she herself had begun the estrangement by playing favorites
with a newcomer.
A father received a phone call from his son, who recently became a homeowner,
about his large property tax bill, and the father offered suggestions on how to budget.
That created friction because the son only wanted to compare tax bills with his father.
An older sister attempted to get disgruntled family members together to soothe
their ruffled feathers, but, instead, feathers flew.
Inheritance was a big family problem I heard about while pastoring churches. A
mysterious story about hidden money, or a secret, “more current” will, or a secret, out-of-
state bank account would circulate. This tale continued long after the estate had been
closed, but their resentment of not receiving more inheritance continued for years.
In all of the above situations, the people involved jumped to conclusions before
knowing the real facts, and poor communication and inflated egos added to the problem.
How would Jesus handle such situations? For most of Jesus’ ministry, he spoke
against hypocrites. He targeted the priests of the era because they were more concerned
about their worldly image than seeking God’s approval.
As worshippers of God, do we fit into the category of hypocrite? Are we more
concerned about our image than with doing the right thing? Do we trust God enough to
“let go and let God,” offering others our empathy, love, forgiveness and encouragement
rather than giving them our judgment and a piece of our mind? Are we kind? Do we
encourage family members and friends to be all that God prepared them to be?
God invites all to come to him, and they will easily tune in to God’s wave length
when they witness our beliefs demonstrated through our words and our actions.
Relax! Believe! Let others do God’s will, not our will.