Thy Way, Not Mine O Lord, However Dark It Be;

…lead me by thine own hand; choose out the path for me.

This quote expresses the Christian who is so committed to God’s way that not even the fear of a dark path can dissuade them from following Him. They understand that there is no failure when God leads or in His will.

Horatius Bonar was a Scottish author, preacher and hymn writer who lived in the 1800’s. This quote is from the hymn, “Thy way, not mine, O Lord” and is just 1 of over 100 hymns that he wrote. He was acquainted with the dark path, as 5 of his children died while they were still young.

This is a guest post by Beth Harris. She is a wife, mother, Bible study leader and volunteer editor for markalanwilliams.net.

In 2003, my husband was doing well enough for me to quit my full-time job as an Administrative Assistant to stay home with my then pre-teen children. I was grateful, but I struggled with the transition–I felt lost because sadly much of my identity and satisfaction in life came from work.

I asked the Lord to help me navigate through this time and just happened to pick up a copy of the “Purpose Driven Life”, by Rick Warren. This book resonated with me and confirmed what I had been reading in the Bible. In addition to serving my family; I clearly understood that God was leading me to become actively involved as a member of a local church, join a weekly women’s Bible study, know and use my Spiritual gifts; and last but not least, help others come to Christ and grow as committed followers.

I fully embraced God’s way and path for me. Although, it has been dark at times, He’s brought blessings out of every challenge and faithfully led me every step of the way.

We can choose to live our way, or we can surrender our will and live God’s way. If we choose His way, we won’t be disappointed, because His way is always best; regardless of how dark it may be at times. We are wise if we trust Him to lead us by His hand and choose the path for us.

God’s way for us to live is by faith through a personal relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way for us to be reconciled with God, receive forgiveness for our sins; and have eternal life.

The first step to living God’s way is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

Please click here if you would like to do so now.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NIV)

Jesus is the only way to God and when we ask Him to be our Lord and Savior; we surrender control of our lives to Him, and He becomes the boss of our life.

Then we surrender to Him daily as Luke 9:23-24 says, “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (NIV)

And Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (NIV)

The Christian life is one of self-denial and surrender. Which means that in every situation, rather than make our own decisions; we pause and ask the Lord what He would have us do and what would please Him?

We can actually know the will and mind of the Lord through His Word!

Isaiah 41:13 says, “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” (NIV)

If the path gets dark because of challenges, we need not fear, because God will take hold of our hand and lead us.

This quote says it well:

God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.” Jim Elliot

We can let God choose our path because we know that He is good and His plans for us are good.

We have the promise of Romans 8:28 which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)

Although, His way and plans may not always feel good, they are working for our good.

Are you following God’s way and path for your life?

Please click here if you would like to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Your thoughts are welcome! You can leave a comment below.

Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

Thy way, not mine O Lord, however dark it be; lead me by thine own hand; choose out the path for me. –Horatius Bonar | CLICK TO TWEET

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• There is no failure in God’s will, God always gives His best…

• Five Ways God Speaks to Us

• How to Hear From God

• Strategies for Hearing from God

• So You Think You Can’t Take a Prayer Retreat?

• 5 Reasons God’s Definition of Success is Wonderful

• 6 Solutions When You Suffer for Doing Good

• 7 Ways to Pray When You’re Suffering

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Have You Made A Contract With God?

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Earlier this year I was talking with a friend who admitted that he had never fully entered into a contract with God. In fact, what he specifically said was that he couldn’t say that he had ever fully surrendered everything to the Lord Jesus.

My hunch is that many who call themselves Christians like my friend, have never fully surrendered to the Lord. Perhaps they’ve been Christians for decades and faithfully attend church and sing the great old hymn, “I Surrender All.” But down deep, when push comes to shove, they have to admit that they’re holding back a part or many parts of their lives.

One of the most outstanding Christian leaders of our generation was Bill Bright, founder of Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ). He was certainly one of the people most used by God in our time. It is estimated that 139 million people around the world know Christ because of the impact of his ministry.

Why was Bill Bright so used by God? A big part of the reason, according to his own account, is that he made a “contract with God” in which he surrendered everything he was and had to be slave of the Lord.

He literally, along with his wife Vonette, wrote out and signed a contract with God, surrendering everything to Christ. This didn’t mean he took a vow of poverty, but that he was willing to bewhatever and do whatever God wanted.

The contract went something like this:

From this day, Lord, we surrender and relinquish all of our past, present, and future rights and material possessions to you. As an act of the will, by faith, we choose to become Your bondslaves and do whatever You want us to do, go wherever You want us to go, say whatever You want us to say, no matter what it costs, for the rest of our lives. With Your help, we will never again seek the praise or applause of men or the material wealth of the world.

When I read about this contract with God in the biography Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, I was inspired to write my own contract and sign it. I’m really glad I did!

Bill Bright said that his contract was “the anchor of our marriage. It’s the greatest decision that we have ever made. It was a total, absolute, irrevocable commitment to the Lordship of Christ.”

A few nights after creating his contract, God spoke to Bright and gave him a life-changing vision for the world. The next morning, he told one of his seminary professors, Wilbur Smith, about the vision. “This is of God, this is of God,” he said. A day later he handed Bill a piece of paper and said, “God gave me the name for your vision.” On the paper was written “CCC” and the name, “Campus Crusade for Christ.”

As they say, “the rest is history.” That ministry grew to over 20,000 staff members and has reached over a billion people with the Gospel.

Do you want to be used greatly by God? Are you tired of working for things that “moth and rust corrupt” (Matthew 6:19) and won’t last for eternity?

I encourage you to make your own contract with God, as I did after inspired by the Brights story.

Here’s the contract I wrote a few years ago. You can use it as a template for your own contract.

Mark Williams’ Contract with God I give myself wholly to You God, a living sacrifice, a bondservant, a slave to be used however You want Lord.

With your help, I will crawl back up on the altar every time I slip down.

The world has yet to see what can be accomplished by a person wholly devoted to God, but I endeavor to be that person.

I know that in giving everything, I gain everything.

Signed: Mark Alan Williams 5/10/2010 Tokyo

Why make a contract with God? Here’s what the Bible says about surrender:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1 ESV)

“Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16 ESV)

“And he [Jesus] said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23 ESV)

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20 ESV)

Will you make a contract with God today?

And if you have never received God’s gift of salvation through Christ, click HERE to learn how to do so.

Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Who Needs Jesus, I’m a Good Person

• Have You Written Your Own Bible?

• Why Your Sincerity Can be Deadly

• Podcast: Isn’t Christianity arrogant to claim to be the only way to heaven?

• 3 Motives for Rejecting Jesus

• What Does God Owe Me?

• Submit to Get What You Want

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth

When God Pushes You To The Edge Of Difficulty Trust Him Fully…

We can trust God fully when He pushes us to the edge of difficulty, because He often tests our faith to see if we will trust or doubt Him. However, God will never tempt us to sin nor should we take steps of faith without prayer and confirmation.

This is a guest post by Beth Harris. She is a wife, mother, Bible study leader and volunteer editor for markalanwilliams.net.

5 years ago, I was pushed to the edge of difficulty as I suffered through depression. It was dark and scary. The worst of it lasted 5 months and was compounded by the fact that I couldn’t sleep more than 1 to 2 hours per night. I had experienced depression years ago and God had helped me then, so I reasoned He could help me again. With stubborn faith, I clung to Him and His Word like never before. I put my trust in Him and as I took steps of faith to recover; He graciously restored me.

I know God didn’t push me into depression, but I believe He allowed it to happen and through the difficulty, He helped me respond to Him with faith and trust. After this painful trial, I experienced many new opportunities to serve Him in various ministries. As difficult as the experience was, I know that God used this time of suffering to produce Spiritual fruit in my life and in the lives of others.

In the Christian life, we will go through many experiences where our faith is challenged and tested.

We may feel like we are at the edge of a precipice and about to fall. But, God allows us to go through trials to see if we will trust or doubt Him; and He wants us to trust Him fully.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4 NIV)

The testing of our faith produces perseverance which makes us mature and complete.

Sometimes, God asks us to trust Him by taking a step of faith as he did with Moses.

Exodus 3:9-11 says, “And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (NIV)

It can be scary to trust God and take a step of faith; and we may be reluctant.

Exodus 3:12 says, And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”

It may feel as though we are alone, but we can trust God to be with us as we go through difficulty and take steps of faith.

We should be careful not to confuse God’s testing with temptations that we may face. God tests us for our good, but He will never tempt us to sin.

James 1:3-14 says, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” (NIV)

We can pray for God’s protection and remember that He will provide a way out of temptation. When you’re tempted, look for the escape route!

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)

There is usually some level of risk involved with leaving our comfort zone and entering unknown territory. However, in taking steps of faith, we shouldn’t put God to the test as Matthew 4:7 says, “Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (NIV)

Taking steps of faith may require us to leave what is familiar to accept the unfamiliar, and sometimes uncomfortable. In fact, we may experience greater temptation and opposition when we step out in faith. But, faith is necessary to please God as Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” (NIV)

Our decisions to step out in faith should be prayerfully considered and confirmed by the Bible. We can also seek wise counsel from our pastor and other mature Christians.

God will catch us if we stumble and fall as Psalm 40:2 says, “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” (NIV)

He lifts us up when we are stuck in the difficulties of life and puts us on solid ground.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (NLT)

The Lord will renew our strength. We can trust Him fully when He stretches our faith by pushing us to the edge of difficulty, because He will catch us if we fall or teach us to fly.

Have you been pushed to the edge of difficulty?

Please click here if you would like to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Your thoughts are welcome! You can leave a comment below.

Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

When God pushes you to the edge of difficulty trust him fully, because only two things can happen. Either he will catch you when you fall, or he will teach you how to fly. Unknown | CLICK TO TWEET

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Four Steps to Climb Out of a Pit of Depression

• You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble…

• Faith Means Acting When You Feel Inadequate

• Opposition Often Means You’re On the Right Track

• 6 Solutions When You Suffer for Doing Good

• Why You Need Protecting Prayer in 3 Realms and How to do It

• 7 Ways to Pray When You’re Suffering

• 3 Acceptable Sins You Can Enjoy Today…or NOT!

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth