Give me, give me, give me

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.   Luke 22:42-43

Sewlyn Hughes taught that "Demandingness is the attitude that says I want what I want when I want it. It is quite different from intercession, perseverance and wrestling with God in prayer. Demandingness demands rather than pleads, insists on one's own way is right...."

It all boils down to the disease of self-centredness - the refusal to give up our rights and subjecting it to Him. It is about putting our agenda before God's agenda in our walk.

This is a tough one for many of us. Our fallen nature demands that we put our self as the center of all things. An ancient Chinese saying, "人不为己，天诛地灭", reflects this attitude. Translated, this philosophy says "If man does not live for himself (or put self as the center), even the heaven and earth will be destroyed."

Jesus proved otherwise. He gave up His royal rights as the Son of God to become the Son of Man. He could have miraculously come down from the cross, free Himself from all the sufferings and show that He is indeed God. The Jews and Romans were expecting that; "if only He could save Himself, we will believe that He is indeed the Son of God." (Matthew 27:41-43)

But for our sake, He didn't, hallelujah. As a human, He pleaded with God to let HIm bypass the suffering. But His love for us prevailed. He gave up His own agenda to let God's agenda of salvation prevail. As the song goes, "You (Jesus) took the fall, and taught of me, above all."

We can be like Jesus too ... as the angel came and strengthened Him, God will also send His angles to strengthen us whenever we make the decision to abide by His will instead of demanding ours.

For God's glory, it will be a transformation from "Give me, give me, give me" to "Use me, use me, use me."

God bless.

Steven