Overcoming Our Will To Do His Will

I think one of the most frustrating - but also the most rewarding and fulfilling - things is trying to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to be perfect in this life; and a new perspective was illuminated to me this week. In a gathering where the focus was on discussing the social customs of various countries with regards to business, it was determined that Americans are very clear-cut and direct with their business purposes. When a business idea is formed, a business meeting almost always follows soon after - whether that's pitching the idea to a potential financial backer, to a development and production team, etc - and it's expected that the meeting will last only as long as necessary to clarify details and the vision of the project. However, in other countries, especially in the Middle East, a business deal is only formed after a friendship is established - and the business deal usually quickly and unanimously follows once the friendship and trust is built.

I think this is often the case with the Gospel and our relationship with our Heavenly Father. We take the American business mentality of "give me the 10-step plan, set a deadline, show me the guidelines, and I will do everything I can to get it done in that amount of time." And yet, this isn't how the Gospel is. It's not meant to focus on a deadline or to be a checklist of to-do items; it's about learning who we are and who are Heavenly Father is. Once we know who He is, we must learn how He acts and thinks and speaks and interacts, because the purpose of the Gospel is for us to become like Him. We will continue to make mistakes and the Atonement is there as a powerful correctional tool to aide us in eventually achieving what Heavenly Father expects of us. In fact, once the relationship is established and trust in Him truly is there, the blessings and results of the Gospel, the commandments, and the Atonement become very evident in our lives.

Thus, we must surrender our instinctive desires and do as Christ did when He said "not my will but thine be done." Truly, His will is one of patience, long-suffering, enduring, adapting, overcoming, learning, growing, changing, and improving. It's a process- and it guarantees the best outcome for us.