BEST OF TQFG: Sometimes, it’s better for others that you not get what you want.

We hope you enjoy this re-post February 2, 2013. Be blessed! The Today’s Quote From God Team


And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. – Mark 14:36, KJV

Sometimes our prayers go unanswered, not because we have asked for a wrong thing or for a wrong reason, but because to get what we want would mean that others would suffer. Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed that God would remove from Him the cup of suffering, death, and separation from the Father – but only if it were the Father’s will. Had God granted this wish, then God’s plan of salvation would have gone unfulfilled, and mankind would be doomed. Only by God not granting Christ’s wish do we have the hope of salvation, and only by this unanswered prayer can we be a part of God’s family.

On January 8, 1956, five American missionaries – Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian – were killed by members of the Huaroani people (a.k.a. Auca Indians) of Ecuador. Burdened for their souls, these brave men gambled their lives in hopes of reaching a people known for their violence to both themselves and to outsiders. To the natural mind, they lost their gamble when they lost their lives. To the supernatural mind, they could not have won a bigger prize. As Wikipedia reports:

The deaths of the men galvanized the missionary effort in the United States, sparking an outpouring of funding for evangelization efforts around the world… Several years after the death of the men, the widow of Jim Elliot, Elisabeth, and the sister of Nate Saint, Rachel, returned to Ecuador as missionaries…to live among the Huaorani. This eventually led to the conversion of many, including some of those involved in the killing. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Auca)

I have no doubt that these men and their families prayed for safety as they began their missionary work, but their prayers, like Christ’s, were laced with desires for God’s will to be done, no matter what. The deaths of these men have had an incalculable impact on souls worldwide for over fifty years, and it was all due to prayers for safety being unanswered.

Is there a cup you would like God to take from you? There is nothing wrong with asking Him to do so. He very well may. But if He does not, take solace in the fact that, through you, He will bring many others to Himself.

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