This past weekend was Easter and the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. One of the most famous Old Testament passages about Christ’s passion is found in Isaiah 53. Last week I spent an extended amount of time praying through Isaiah 53 in the HoPE prayer room. (For those not familiar, I work with a Christian ministry called House of Prayer Edmonton, which has a prayer room that serves the capital region of Edmonton through daily times of prayer and worship.)
There were many things that stood out for me in this chapter, but let me share a bit on one particular verse:
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. (verse 10)
Most people get caught up on the theology of the first half of the verse, pondering how it could be the will of God for Jesus to suffer (which is a very important issue to consider). What I want to comment on is the later part of the verse, that ‘the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand‘. Jesus walked in perfect submission to the purposes and will of God and it was said that God’s will ‘prospered’ in his hand, meaning in his life. God entrusted the plan of salvation into the hands of His Son, giving Jesus full opportunity to legitimately choose whether to ‘walk out’ that plan. We know from the gospel accounts that Jesus was overwhelmed by the prospect of His sufferings (Matt. 26:38), and that could have delivered himself by calling upon legions of angels to save him (Matt. 26:53); yet Jesus voluntarily chose to walk the way of the cross. The choice of Jesus to walk in obedient submission the God’s will is the essence of what it means that the ‘will of God will prosper in his hand’.
This past week I have prayed around this verse, considering whether the will of the Lord will ‘prosper’ in my life. Colossians 1:9 offers a prayer for us to pray that we would have clarity concerning the ‘knowledge of his will’. I understand that God has thoughts and plans concerning my life, which are referred to as his will. How am I walking those plans out? Is the will of the Lord prospering in my life? What does it mean for God’s will to ‘prosper’ in my life?
I am convinced that at the heart of it, there must be an obedient submission to what God is wanting me to do (as well as what he causes to happen in my life).
I will close with a excerpt from a short prayer I wrote in my journal log book that I use in the prayer room:
May your will prosper in my life. God I pray, let your kingdom come and let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and specifically in my life today. Help me to be in agreement, submission and participation with your will O Lord. Amen.
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Jim
