As It Is In Heaven

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  Matthew 7:21

I grew up in a somewhat traditional home, where my dad worked and my mom took care of the house. In my teenage years, my mom would drive me crazy by replying to every question I asked her with one simple phrase: “That’s how your father likes it.” Or some variation of that depending on my probes. No matter what preference I was attempting to communicate that I might change her mind, she never relented. Whether it was a meal she was cooking, how she decorated the house, or the order in which we had to get things accomplished …she was driven by doing it the way daddy liked it done! I could hardly keep my composure and I’m sure she’d testify to that herself.

In my immaturity, I had no real grasp for accommodating anyone else’s desires other than my own. But that phrase stuck with me nonetheless. It’s amazing the words that circle back to us again throughout our lives and how our faith makes them come alive with revelation when hearts are finally ready to receive.  

I was reading Genesis with my daughter this week and she asked why God did something one way and not another way. Without hesitation, I said, “That’s just the way our Father loves it!” And for the first time in many years, it didn’t make me the least bit annoyed or confrontational … it actually ushered in a tremendous wave of peace into the room. The Holy Spirit was settling a deeper truth in our hearts. One that is so presently needed in the Body of Christ – the humble submission to bow our lives to everything the Father prefers.

On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer. But in reality, it’s a moment by moment sacrificial offering to the One who is waiting for someone to do it His way, in His time, in His presence. For every heart that pauses before Him to inquire how He’d love to see His Kingdom come, He speaks. He moves. He opens doors. He responds instantly and overwhelmingly. He grants access to new realms. He imparts His faith that will fuel us to know His desires are indeed possible. He quiets all other demanding voices. He shows us the deep and hidden things we could never find on our own. He pushes back the veil and leads us higher up. He writes His delight upon our lives. He teaches us how to be His sons and daughters. He calls new fountains within to spring to life. He uses our hands to build places where His glory falls. He gives us the privilege to see Him inside of His creation. He sets the temperature for eternal transformation. And He graduates us from hearers into doers of His will.

In my own life and in yours, may we set a new course based on His word and His heart. I pray we become His river that can be trusted to flow in His Holy Spirit throughout all the earth. And by His grace, we’d become the oil of His presence that carries the perfume of His Kingdom come and His will being done.