what's on the agenda?

God has taught me so much since the last time a blogged. He has been faithful to me and has poured blessing after blessing upon me. And He has been showing me new things and revealing new mysteries from Heaven. One thing he He has taught me that changed my relationship drastically is His agenda and mine. See, for so many years as a Christian, I've been taught to surrender to God's will in everything I do and that He should have total control of my life and decision making and that dreams that I want to pursue. But this lifestyle is that of a master and a servant. God actually has something else in mind. Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants because a servant does not know his master's business." That doesn't mean we no longer become servants in serving God, but it does mean that our desires and dreams matter to God. So many Christians including me, are afraid to come before God and tell Him our dreams and what we think because we get this idea that God will do it His way all the time no matter what we think or say because His will is above ours. Which is somewhat true because even Jesus prayed in the garden and asked God "if it is possible, take this cup from me but not my will, but your will be done." Yet there are stories throughout the Bible that show how God's decisions were changed because of men. For example, when Moses came back down from the mountain, he saw all the people worshiping a golden calf. And God became furious and said that He will pour out His wrath and anger upon them and wipe all of them out. He told Moses, "I have seen these people, and they are a stiff-necked people. Not leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you(Moses) a great nation." But Moses responded, "Why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth'? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your covenant with Abraham? How you promised to make His a great nation and that He will have as many descendants as the number of stars in the sky?" And so God's response..."Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
You see, the mind of God was changed. He was so angry that He wanted to destroy to very people that He delivered. But Moses brought his opinion to God and God relented, or softened His anger. I am not saying that our will and agenda is above or even the same as God's agenda. But what I am saying is that we should first surrender to God's agenda and plans. And once we do that, God will say "Ok, now that you have chosen to follow my agenda and plans for you, let me see what you have in mind." Many of us got the first part in surrendering to God's will, but if we stop there, then we are only servants to God. Jesus wants us to be servants to the King of Kings but also to be His friend.
It's like this: there was a man who lived in a giant house. And he had a servant who helped him take care of his house. Now the man will not call the servant up for private personal business or ask him to join his family meetings or to help him make important business or financial decisions. The servant may know the master's hobbies, favorite dessert, movie, or how he likes his pillows fluffed. But the servant won't know the heart of the master. But the master's friend who always visits him and plays golf with him every weekend will know what his heart is feeling and what he wants to do in his life.
We shouldn't be just servants and we shouldn't be just friends and not following the agenda God has. We need to be both! Serving God and surrendering to His agenda first, and then bring up our desires and opinions. God doesn't lack ideas. But he loves our participation! He wants to hear what you have in mind. So don't be afraid to tell God, "Hey I really want move there to do missions instead of staying here and be a pastor." or "God, I really want to be with this person." Maybe God had something else in mind, but He still wants to hear what is in your heart. God made himself vulnerable to the dreams and desires of His people. He isn't weak just because He made Himself vulnerable but He is desperate for an intimate relationship with you. He could have not made Himself vulnerable to the desires of His people and just remain at a master-servant relationship. But He wanted more between us. He wanted a friend to friend relationship as well!

God wants me to blog about this because He sees how you are living your faith. You haven't been bringing your opinions or wants to God because you figured "if it is God's will all the time, why even bother telling Him what I think." But God wants you to know that He really treasures want you think. That's why He created a heart inside of you to have desires and a mind to have opinions. He didn't create microchips or remote controlled receivers inside of you. Don't be afraid anymore to come before God and start talking about what you have in mind. First, surrender to His agenda. And then bring your agenda to God. Once you start seeing and understanding this, your relationship with Jesus will explode!