In “The Valley of Vision,” one of of the entries says this (as a prayer to God): “May we be alive to every call of duty, accepting without question Thy [God’s] determination of our circumstances and our service.” What if God has “called” us to do particular duties we’d rather not do and that are quite difficult? Sometimes, life is rosy and all is well and we are happy to do whatever task comes our way. At other times, there are many thorns on our path and we are called to walk that way (through the thorns) to fulfill the duty to which God has called us. Many of us find ourselves in situations which cannot be fixed and which may not (possibly, cannot) ever change, so what are we to do? How are we to handle situations which cannot be altered? I believe the old Puritan gives us some help here. God is our General and we are to follow wherever He leads us, even if it is into unalterable situations. God has determined our circumstances “and our service,” and we should accept each as God’s duty for us “without question.” Certainly, if there are situations which can be changed by positive (and biblical) action, then I do not see where this would be contrary to God’s law and will. However, I am speaking here of unalterable situations. Hard circumstances to which we are called and in which we must walk. I, as God’s soldier, must bear up under the circumstance for that is what God has called me to do. If I believe that God has determined my circumstances, then it is clear that He has called me to this, whether it be difficult or be easy. God has issued, one might say, a “Call to Duty,” and I must, as His solider (as His child), follow through with that calling.
POINT: Sometimes circumstances should be sought to be changed, and at other times they must be accepted as our call of duty from our General who has determined our circumstances for us. God called Paul to have a particular “thorn” in his life (see 2 Corinthians 12), and when Paul prayed to have that thorn removed, God answered “No” for Paul’s spiritual good. In the same way, we may have situations for which we have prayed for God to change for years. But God, in His infinite wisdom, has answered, “No” for the time being. In the mean time, we must walk through the difficult situations. We must trust that our Good and All-Wise General knows what is best for us. There are exceptions to this (I’m thinking of being in an emotionally and physically-dangerous situation, and the like), but maybe the point can be taken with sensible exceptions in mind.
QUESTION/PRAYER FOR GOD: “God, have You served me this particular situation in order to change it, or have You given me this particular situation to bear up under it and accept it as Your will?”