Decreased, Dependent, But Not Disconnected

John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

This is the calling of all Christians. Daily, we are to decrease our wills and allow His will to increase until we have no will but His.

I see two extremes. There are people who miss the obvious before them and pray about everything often missing opportunities God placed in front of them by their delay to act. Had they been walking in God's will the answer would not have to found in prayer.

A circuit riding preacher by the name of Sheffey came across a family whose horse died. They had all of their belongings in the wagon. Sheffey started to sit down and pray, but quickly realized that the answer was already in front of him. He gave them his beloved horse. That is how it works when you are deep into the will of God.

The other extreme is the ones who seldom pray about anything. They just bounce about in their own will and desires never considering what God might want them to do.

We choose our careers, cars, homes, mates, etc. more often than not based upon our wills, not His. When we end up with financial problems or what we bought is not the quality advertised we ask God for help. When the dream spouse starts to be more like a nightmare we ask God for help. When our job is more like slavery than the career we longed for we ask God for help.

I think most of us would be living a far more simple and less stressful life if we would ask Him first not for help later. There are people that should have been in vocational ministry and are miserable in the lucrative job they took instead. There are those in vocational ministry that should have taken a secular job and be a volunteer and financial supporter of a ministry to avoid the conflict and stress they were not called to experience. Many people may have never married and many would have married different people if they would have asked God's will first.

It is tough to decrease in a culture where success and advancement is key meaning you must self-promote and be aggressive. Yet, success comes when we become less and He becomes more. All the accolades and stuff of this world stays here. Allowing Him to increase here carries on into eternity. Choose wisely! Maranatha!