Luke 10:21 English Standard Version (ESV) In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

Daniel 7:8 English Standard Version (ES) I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

I grew up reading the King James Version. I remember verses in the KJV. I write in the user-friendly English Standard Version because like the KJV it is free of copyright restrictions and I can use it as much as I like without violating their rules.

I was thinking of using “he who is faithful in little is faithful in much” and search in the ESV language and these two great verses appeared. I do not want to call this a happy accident, but this happens often during my searches.

Do I go with my original thoughts or do I continue with what I see in the search results?

I am struck with the words “such was your gracious will”. The footnote expanded the understanding to announce it please God well.

Which of the two opening verses pleases us to discover them in a bible search which resulted in important and interesting verses that were unexpected?

This is not a matter of which verse is more important but rather which one is “eye-catching” to the individual? We might see the unexpected results as a happy accident or a distraction. It is even possible to discover the results are convicting our souls. 

My experiences find me paying attention to things that are “eye-catching” things because some of them have led me to God’s gracious blessings.

Now these two pening verses have profound messages that have nothing to do with each other. Which one is pleasing to our personalities and which one is God’s gracious will?

No one can answer that question for another person. God is personal with His gracious will and what works for one individual may not work for anyone else.

There are multiple messages today. Which one connects to you as a reader is for you to decide. If nothing connects with you, that is acceptable also.

Romans 8:26a English Standard Version (ESV) Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

I have a weakness for coffee ice cream. I am a controlled diabetic. This is not the weakness Paul is addressing in Romans 8:26. What I call weakness is the strength to resist temptation. 

I do not give in to that temptation all the time. What I do is wait until I have my lab results after six months and if my A1C is 6.0 t0 6.3 I celebrate by getting some coffee ice cream and cheat on my diet.

Am I sinning?

In the perfect definition of sinning, yes because I know what I should do and I justify my actions to do that which is not good for me. It is cheating and cheating is not a spiritually sound word.

When we justify our actions to choose to do what is wrong, it is a bad habit that might leak over into another aspect of our lives that will be more harmful in our relationships that should take priority.

Our Lord has told us to love one another. What rationalizations have we used to disobey Him?

I had siblings that said they were spiritual but they did not love me. The fact that they did not love me justify my withholding love from them?

That is an extreme example of a spiritual truth. We should not stop loving others just because they have done nothing to deserve it. If Jesus had felt that way we would all be lost and suffering in sin because He would not have gone to the cross for us. But He did and we should remember that when others are acting unworthy.

Romans 8:26b English Standard Version (ESV) For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

So we do not pray for them as we ought, but thanks be to God that His Spirit is stronger than our weakness and will do the right thing.

Knowing that the Spirit will pray when we will not is not justification to withhold prayer.

We are still commanded to love and prayer is an act of love.

There is a prayer of David that means “have your way with me Lord.” Pray it.