The Power of Your Will

Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens to which our wills are gardeners. – William Shakespeare

I like the story of three young men – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – recorded in the Bible. It tells of a time the great king Nebuchadnezzar commanded that a statue be made of which his subjects were to bow and worship. We get into the story after the young men refused to bow and were reported to the king.

Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Now if you are ready, at the time you hear the sound of the horn… fall down and worship the image ... But if you do not worship, … you shall be thrown into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. And who is that god who shall deliver you out of my hand?” The trio had never worshiped a god that was not God and they were not about to start. So “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said to the king, “…We have no need to return a word to you on this matter. If it is so that our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, then He will deliver us out of your hand, ... But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image which you have set up””.

I like that statement. Did you see it? Let me show it to you again: “We will not”. What an awesome statement! It was not the king’s decision to make- nothing he could do would make them change their minds. Interestingly it was not God’s decision to make- he didn’t need to do anything to make them decide this. It was their decision and theirs only.

The biggest gift we have is our will. We can say, “I will” or “I will not”. This separates us from the other forms of life in the planet. All successful people know how and when to use their wills. They will to read and research. They will to give up negative habits and pick up great ones. They will to be successful and not failures. If you do not learn to access the power of your will you will endlessly remain stagnated in mediocrity