As In Heaven

These days my normal prayer has become "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, in me, in my family, in my church, as it is in heaven."

I know that means I may not get my way and things may not go how I planned or wished they would, but God is teaching me to be okay with that. Last night I started thinking about what "as it is in heaven" really means.

That means there is no opposition. No dragging of feet or complaining along the way. In heaven, God's will is always accomplished and accomplished quickly because there isn't a struggle. Because he has total control in heaven. So I started praying, God, don't let me oppose your will or stop what you are trying to do. Especially as I tend to do when I don't understand what is going on.

The other thing that seems to keep coming up is "It's not personal, it's Kingdom business." Kind of my new motto. Much easier said than done.

We live in a world where people are so self focused. We do what we want generally, and feel like we have a right to get even or get back if our feelings are hurt. Or even better, we feel if someone disagrees with us, it is a personal attack. There are no 2 people that agree on everything. We all strive to make the best decisions for ourselves and our families with God's help and really feel like others would obviously make the same choice because we are right. And we want everyone to agree with us so we can validate our stance or feel good about our choice. So when there is a disagreement, we feel like we have to confront it or debate it until we reach a consensus (until they agree with me, obviously :)).

But in reality, when we stop making everything personal, and focus on the task at hand, there is more unity. In the big scheme of things, many of our disagreements really don't matter. I'm okay if you disagree with me. I can still keep my opinion and you yours without either of us feeling like we are wrong or need to prove ourselves and our point. It just doesn't matter.

The devil wants us to take everything personally and create division, but in reality we are all individuals created to be different and that is okay. Different doesn't mean right and wrong, it means different. (Obviously I'm not talking about foundational Biblical issues, but most disagreements in the church and in the family are over petty things with no eternal value).

So here's where I'm at: I get frustrated at times with all the change and uncertainty, but I really am trying to be flexible. I really want God to have his way and lead me into whatever he has next. I don't want to be a hindrance to his plan or to the people around me, but just trying to live in love and forgiveness with my eye on the goal.