Prevail

Prevail

You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.

“OFTEN, WE PRAY prayers for comfort—for God to remove us from difficult circumstances—rather than for his will to prevail in the midst of the storm. We beg to get out rather than get through. And because we are seeking to escape, we don’t stop to ask what bigger thing God might be doing in us and through us.” Aaron’s paraphrase of Mark Batterson’s words in Draw the Circle as he maneuvered our vehicle through rush hour traffic had my heart seizing as I processed what he was saying.

Have I done that, Lord? I thought. Have I been more concerned with my comfort than that your will prevail? Have I been so busy plotting an escape that I’ve completely missed what you were doing, trying to do? Is comfort an idol in my life?

Oh boy. Those are convicting, hard questions, aren’t they? I admit I’ve desperately begged for escape, unwilling to ask God to use me in a hard place. And when I think of godly, incredible women around me, I realize that some of their best work—books they’ve written, sermons they’ve preached, ministries they’ve started—is rooted in dark, hard experiences they’d not wish on their worst enemy. God uses impossibly hard things to accomplish his will, oftentimes with more impact than the easy-peasy life of comfort we desperately pray for.

What does it mean for God’s will to prevail? He promises that he will cause all things—the good and the bad—to work together for his glory and for the good of those who love and are called by God (see Romans 8:28). God promises to not leave or forsake us in the midst of crisis and chaos, but he did not promise to remove the storm or that we will understand “why” this side of heaven. Just as Jesus asked to be rescued even as he prayed for God’s will to prevail in the garden of Gethsemane, our ultimate prayer should be for God’s will, not our comfort.

Lord, may we tear down our idols around comfort, praying that your will prevails in the midst of all things, the good and the bad. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Start asking for God’s will to prevail in every prayer you pray. And ask God what circumstances you have tried to blindly escape rather than seeking his will in the midst.