by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

February 6


A Clash of Wills (Part One) by Barbara Rainey
Proverbs 16:9
The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.


Cinderella-everyone knows her story. On the night of the grand ball, Cinderella was cruelly prevented from attending by two selfish stepsisters. Her heart was crushed in disappointment.
She ran to the garden in tears to be alone, only to find her fairy godmother. The wave of a wand and a few magic words transformed Cinderella into a most beautiful princess. She was whisked off to a ball where she met Prince Charming. Of course, it was love at first sight and they lived happily ever after.

Happily ever after is the stuff of which fairy tales are made. Though we wish it were so at times, life is not a fairy tale. God is not a fairy godmother with a magic wand waiting to wish our troubles away. He has plans and purposes far higher than fairy magic. The problem for me, and for other Christians as well, is the clash between two purposes and wills: God's and mine. Many times they are not the same.

In 1984, I experienced a conflict between God's will and plan and my own. We were nearing the end of an unusually busy spring, one that also contained more than its share of pressure. During those months, I was feeling particularly stretched with our five children. They were normal, active, curious children with five different personalities and five different sets of needs and problems. It was what I'd always wanted, and I was grateful to the Lord for each of these five treasures. Still, I was looking forward to graduating from nursery duty.

Then I learned I was pregnant again. I was completely caught off guard by the news. Didn't God know I had all I could handle with five children? Didn't He know I didn't want to go through all this again? I was sick physically, drained mentally, and tired just thinking about six children.


Prayer:

Think through the problems you face right now, and ask God to guide your steps and keep you joyful in the process.
Discuss: When was the last time you faced a circumstance where your will clashed with God's? Is there a clash today?

by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

February 7


A Clash of Wills (Part Two) by Barbara Rainey
Isaiah 41:10
"'Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.'"


The next two months were hard ones for me. I prayed and I cried and I read Scripture-falling asleep in the middle of verses. I told God I would obey and follow Him, but it took a long time for my feelings to catch up.
Then I heard a story about Glenn Cunningham, a famous track star of the 1930s who overcame a doctor's prediction when he was nine years old that he'd never walk again. This young boy clung to a verse his father had read to him-Isaiah 40:28. I went home, turned to that passage and happened to read on to the next chapter. There my eyes fell on verse 10. I reread it several times, for it encouraged me that God said, "Do not fear, for I am with you." I knew that God had chosen to give me this new child and would also give me the strength and help I needed.

But that wasn't the end of my trials that summer. On July 3, when I was three months pregnant, my heart began racing, just as it had seven years earlier. Dennis rushed me to the hospital-my heart was beating at 200 to 300 beats a minute.

As I lay in the coronary intensive care unit, my main concern was for the child within me. Now that I was excited about the child, was I about to lose it? I prayed simply that God would protect our baby and spare its life and mine. I committed my life into God's hands as I lay there growing weaker and weaker.

The doctors finally slowed my heart by using electric shock treatment. When the nurse told me the baby's heartbeat was strong, I was so relieved I cried for joy.

Six months later, Laura Victoria Rainey was born on a cold January night. She has added joy and smiles to our family and to my life. Dennis and I concluded again that God does know what He's doing.


Prayer:

That God will remind you that He is with you in every situation you face, and He knows what He's doing.
Discuss: What situations do you fear? Have you turned to God in those circumstances?