Peaceful No Matter WhatНамуна

Align Your Desires

My wife Jennifer and I once took dancing lessons.

She is a great dancer. She was trained in several different dance disciplines growing up.

I, on the other hand, am what you might call—what’s the technical term for it?—oh yeah: a gorilla! I have no clue what I am doing. Maybe you can relate.

At the dancing lessons, however, we were taught, in no uncertain terms, that the woman is to follow the man. That is ridiculous. In our case, probably in most cases, the man should follow the woman when dancing—she’s better! But I don’t write the rules.

When Jennifer doesn’t follow my lead—as elementary as it is—we look clumsy and out of sync.

I’m not sure why that is such a hard and fast rule. Probably because we, as men, can have a difficult time following.

Men like to lead. Men like to be the boss. Men like to control, fix, and direct.

This can be detrimental to our relationship with our Lord Jesus (and to our other relationships if we’re not careful). Over and over, we are told to follow Christ, to obey Christ, and to do what Christ is doing.

Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching” (John 14:23 NIV).

Men need to let Jesus lead.

When we don’t, our lives and our futures are clumsy and out of sync. When we find ourselves in that kind of groove, we are filled with disappointment and discontentment.

But when we align ourselves with the Master, we will experience great contentment!

Jesus Himself modeled this. He did nothing apart from what He saw His Father doing, aligning Himself with God.

We are the disciples. He is the Master. Let’s be men who surrender to His leadership and experience the contentment that this alignment brings.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for not leaving us in this world without direction. You have given us clear guidance in Your Word and the gift of the Spirit of Truth to live with us, to help us, and be with us forever. You know how hard it is for men to submit. Please help me to sacrifice my way of doing things so that they align with Your way of doing things. Teach me Your ways. Lead me on the road to everlasting life. Amen.

Reflection: Do you find it hard to take direction? When is it hardest for you to submit to the will of the Lord? In what area is Jesus asking you to align with His will right now?

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