Not My Will, but God’s

For a long time, there was something I deeply longed for, and I prayed to God for it continually. One day passed, then another, then a month . . . and I kept praying until an entire year had gone by. When things did not turn out as I had hoped, I began to wonder whether I was praying in the right way, and my heart grew heavy. That was when I began to examine myself. Had I been insisting on my own will instead of praying for God’s will to become mine? Around that time, as I was reading the Bible, one verse spoke deeply to my heart.

A shepherd who loves his sheep always leads them to the safest place. When the shepherd leads them away from wolves and rough, rocky paths, the sheep may not understand the danger and try to take a path that looks better to them. Yet only by following the shepherd’s guidance can they travel the safest path and find abundant pasture.

I realized that the reason my heart had grown heavier with each passing day was that I had lost sight of this will of God. God, who knows the path I should take, leads me along the path of blessing—the path that will bring me safely home to heaven. Trusting that I lack nothing because God is my Shepherd, I am determined to follow wherever He leads me.