Are You Willing?

It’s not a question of God’s ability to change you, but your willingness to let Him. “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 NKJV).

Are you willing to go to heaven by the Blood of Christ and not of anything you can do? It seems that the hardest thing that we can ever do is nothing. By our pride, we think that surely we must contribute something that we might gain something, but heaven will have none of that.

You cannot earn your way to heaven because the only currency God will accept is the blood of His Son Jesus. “He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins” (Ephesians 1:7 NLT).

Are you willing to trust the Lord with that problem you are carrying about with you? We say we trust the Lord, but by the firm grip that we hold onto our problems, we prove that we do not. We want the Lord to help us, but we are not willing to give Him our problems to do with as He pleases.

It’s not your strength to stand but your willingness to kneel that God is looking for. Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40 NKJV).

Are you willing to let the Spirit of God lead you each day? We ask for God to show us the way and then jump ahead of Him in the thing we want to do. And then, when we get to where we are going, we ask Him why He allowed it. He will only lead you when you follow Him.

You can only be guided if you’re willing to follow. Jesus taught, “If you want to be my disciple, follow me and you will go where I am going. And if you truly follow me as my disciple, the Father will shower his favor upon your life.” (John 12:26 TPT).

Are you willing to wait for God’s timing on that thing you’re praying for? We pray, and then we wonder why He is not moving. Perhaps He is waiting for us to move. Consider that in every trial, God has a purpose, and He will not end the trial until His purpose has been fulfilled.

The more you believe in something, the longer you’re willing to wait for it. “Rest in the Lord and be willing to wait for Him. Do not trouble yourself when all goes well with the one who carries out his sinful plans” (Psalm 37:7 NLV).

Are you willing to deny yourself and give up the right to yourself to your King and Savior? Jesus made it very clear that we must give up our lives before His life will reign in us. We try to negotiate to keep some portion of our life in our own hands, but the Lord will not bargain with you on His commands.

With Christianity, you’re either all in, or you’re not. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways.’” (Matthew 16:24 TPT).

Are you willing to crucify your flesh and be raised to a new life as a new creature? We look around and try to find some other poor fellow whose sin is far worse than our own that we might feel more comfortable as we are. But the Lord is calling you to a higher standard than that.

The Holy Spirit will change you as much as you’re willing to let Him. “Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes” (Romans 12:1-2 TPT).

Are you willing to love the unlovable and serve as a servant to those around you? We are not called to only love those that we already love, but to love even our enemies. We are not called to seek to be served but to serve the least and the lowest of those around us.

When you pray for your enemies, God just might make them your friend. Jesus taught, “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you” (Luke 6:27-28 NLT).

Are you willing to believe that God can do anything? We pray for so little and believe for even less. We make excuses for why God does not answer our prayers, and we are convinced that our faith is higher than it really is. Believe like a believer in the God who can do anything.

Nothing is impossible for God, and it is to that height we should pray to. “But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible’” (Mark 10:27 NKJV).

Are you willing to pray selflessly, only pouring out for those around you? Be the intercessor that the world needs and serve the kingdom in isolation and unnoticed to anyone except God. Be the one who dares to go into the throne room of heaven and plead with God for His mercy onto others.

Let it be you that is the one that God finds in the gap for your family, for your friends, for your Church, for your city, for your nation. The Lord said, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30 NKJV).