Bearing Crosses Made by Ourselves
We make our own crosses when our wills lead us in a different direction than God's will, but we can avoid them by straightening our wills to God's will and following His path.
Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about aligning our will with God's will to avoid unnecessary crosses in our lives. She emphasizes that God's ways are just and right, guiding us in the correct path. Tileston highlights the importance of surrendering our stubborn wills to God's upright will, which cuts through pride, dreams, and distractions. She reminds us that when we deviate from God's path, we create our own crosses, not the ones meant for us to bear in following Jesus.
Text
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
ISAIAH 30:21
The ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them.
HOSEA 14:9
YET more and more this truth doth shine
From failure and from loss,
The will that runs transverse to Thine
Doth thereby make its cross:
Thine upright will
Cuts straight and still
Through pride and dream and dross.
W. M. L. JAY
LET us remember that it is not God who makes many of the crosses that we find in our way, such as we commonly call "crosses." Our Heavenly Father makes "straight paths for our feet," and, if we would go in His way, if we would straighten our wills to His will, and lay them side by side, there would be no crosses. But when the path that God points out goes north and south, and our stubborn wills lead us east and west, the consequence is "a cross"--a cross of our own making, not that which our Master bids us "take up and carry after Him," and of which it has been well said, "He always carries the heaviest end Himself."
ANNIE WEBB-PEPLOE
Sermon Outline
- The Ways of the Lord
- Our Own Crosses
- God's Path
- God makes straight paths for our feet
- We must follow God's way
Key Quotes
“Our wills must be straightened to God's will, and if we would go in His way, if we would straighten our wills to His will, and lay them side by side, there would be no crosses.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“He always carries the heaviest end Himself.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We must straighten our wills to God's will to avoid our own crosses.
- Following God's path is the key to avoiding our own crosses.
- God always carries the heaviest end of our crosses Himself.