ARE YOU WILLING?

Have you ever read Exodus 35? It's a chapter about the gathering of materials and skilled labor for the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness. God was building a place that would be dedicated to one single purpose - the gathering of His people for worship. In this one chapter, the word willing appears at least 5 times depending on the translation you read. God asks those who are willing to bring a variety of goods "from what they have" so the tabernacle could be constructed. He also asks for laborers who are skilled and willing to do the work.

Why didn't God just command that the materials be brought and the work be done? Because genuine worship comes only from willing hearts. You can coerce behavior, but not worship or real relationship. Wasn't God taking a risk here? What if most of the goods were in the hands of unwilling people? Maybe to get what He needed, God should have forced the issue. After all, He is God, and people simply need to obey Him. If conformity, and correct behavior were God's top priorities, maybe He would exercise His power and authority in a different way. But because genuine relationship is His priority, God allows us to make choices, and seeks the willing heart. Today God is still building a place of worship - it's called The Church. And He still builds it from willing hearts.

In 20 years of full time ministry, I have found that a willing heart is the key ingredient to seeing a dynamic flow of God's power. When working with struggling marriages, a willingness to let Jesus be Lord, to consider the other person's viewpoint, to be the first to serve, or love, or forgive, is all that God needs to begin a miraculous healing process. When facing any large project, the resources that come from those who are willing, always seem to be more than enough.

Isaiah 1:19 says, "If you are willing, and obedient, you will eat the best from the land." We tend to focus on the obedience, and no doubt, God loves obedience. But it is williness that opens the door to a flood of God's favor and life (we call that grace) that enables us to be joyfully, and eagerly, obedient.

Willingness is simply the act of humbling the heart before God. It is the opposite of obstinate, stubborn, resistant. Willingness yields, says yes, lowers the defenses. What is God saying to you today? What is He asking? Are you willing?

Now, go make some great choices.