“…yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Luke 22:42
When we are honest with ourselves, we can admit that we want our own way. We want things to happen in our favor or in the favor of those we love. Sometimes we cannot think of any reason why God would not want the outcome we desire, but the inescapable fact is that our understanding is limited. Wisdom and the Word both tell us that we must punctuate every prayer with the words that sometimes sting, “Thy will be done.” Those words, spoken by One Who faced much more than anything we might be hoping to avoid, exemplify the heart-stance of submission. Any good servant recognizes that he or she has no final say but this one. Those four words, though said through gritted teeth, drag the flesh to its knees and give reverence to Omniscience.
I can think of some things I want so desperately, and I pray those words in the face of them. It always stings, but I have lived long enough to know that I dare not insist on what I think I want. The Word tells of times when the Lord gave people the thing they refused to give up in place of His will, and I want no part of those kinds of consequences. The lips that pray for the will of God above their own are connected to the mind that chooses to look at the heart of the One to whom the words are directed. Love is there, love proven through the cross that overshadowed the place those words were uttered first. Just as Christ’s surrender through those words secured salvation for us, our same utterance saves us from a multitude of trouble and usher in untold blessing. Sometimes we see what the trouble would be and it is easier to pray those words, but other times we must surrender in the face of the false luster of what we think are good things. Because the devil never shows the price tag until after we give in, we must trust on the front end that whatever our Father says “no” to, or “wait” is for our good. If He gave us the best He had in His Son, why would He withhold any lesser thing from us? (Romans 8:32) Although it may hurt at first, surrender of our will to God’s is a “yes” to the best of what He has in mind.
Georgia Pointer
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