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Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Thy Will Be Done
Picture the scene. Jesus has been betrayed. He goes out into the Mount of Olives to pray, He's in anguish and His sweat is like drops of blood.
He says in verse 42 in chapter 22 of Luke, "“Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from Me..." He asks God if He's willing, to take the cup away from Him... so that He carry the weight of the sin of the world on His shoulders. But then He adds, " —nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”"
Despite the anguish Jesus is feeling, despite the fact that He knows God's will is for Him to be the Ultimate Sacrifice for all mankind.... despite all of that He says, "not My will, but Yours, be done."
Often we pray the opposite, "My will be done, not Yours." Jesus surrenders Himself to His Father's will.
Earlier in His ministry Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray... and in that prayer He says, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:9-13). And we see Him live that out later.
We're to follow His example.
One thing I love from the Gospels is that Jesus doesn't just tell his disciples what they should do... He models it for them. Jesus doesn't just tell us to obey God's will, but He lives that out Himself. He knows it's hard, He knows the struggle.
Hebrews 4:15, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. "
That verse says that Jesus knows. He's been tested and is able to sympathize with us... and yet He is without sin. Submitting to God's will to never easy, but Jesus did.
Four years ago this past Sunday my family moved. My dad and mom were following God's will for him to serve as a pastor here. I knew that they were obeying God's will, but at the time I mostly recognized that I was leaving my friends. But God knew what He was doing. Looking back I can now see how God has been working these past few years.
Sometimes we don't see how things can be apart of God's will, but He has a plan. We just have to try to trust Him and surrender to His will. When we try to let our will be done everything goes wrong.
There's a song by Hillary Scott called Thy Will (click here to listen to it) and through the song she says that she's confused and that she doesn't understand. But she says thy will be done. A fact about this song is that she wrote it after having a miscarriage. She put her pain to paper and submitted to God saying thy will be done.
It's hard to follow God's will. It's hard to surrender and trust Him. But even if we can't do anything else, let's say thy will be done to God. We won't understand at the time of why these things are happening... but God has a plan.
Thy will be done
This is so true! God has a plan for each of us and it's our job to trust Him to do His will in our lives. Jeremiah 28:11
ReplyDeleteThank you for this great post. I would love it if you stopped by my blog I just started!
bensshowersofblessings.blogspot.com
-Brooklyne
That’s a great Bible verse! Yes, God has a plan for each of us, we just need to trust His will. Thank you for commenting!
DeleteWelcome to the blogger world! :)
I would love to look at your blog but I was unable to find it
Thanks :-) If you can't find it using the address, then you could try going to Andi's Blog. Are you familiar with Circle C Adventure? My blog is on the Fans Blogs list as Showers of Blessings. Let me know is you can find it:-)!
Delete-Brooklyne
I'm not familiar with Circle C Adventures. But I found your blog, I love it!
DeleteI'm glad you found it! And thank you for your comment;-).
Delete-Brooklyne
Hi! I'm new here, because my friend Cori tagged you and I had never heard of your blog, so I clicked on it. But I love it! Oh my goodness! :D I love your heart for God. <3 I think a lot of times I find turmoil or the absence of peace in my life, just because I want things MY way. Not His. Very good reminder, thank you. :) -Mallory
ReplyDeleteHey! Welcome to my blog, Mallory! Thank you! Yeah, I think often I want things my way too and absence of peace results from that. But we need to follow HIS will, even though it’s hard. And we’re going to mess up, but God in His grace forgives us.
DeleteThanks for your sweet comment and for sharing your thoughts!! :)
Such a hard prayer, but such a good one.
ReplyDeleteLearning to pray it in all aspects of my life!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
This prayer, thy will be done, is simply four words but so hard to say and live out. And yes, such a good prayer. We should pray it in all parts of our lives... though it can be difficult.
DeleteThanks for commenting! :)
I've recently been impressed with a gem of a verse found in the first chapter of Ephesians:
ReplyDelete'In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,' -Ephesians 1:11
Context is important, and in its immediate context, this verse is referring specifically to how God works out the salvation of those he predestined...
But the verse also makes a statement about the unchanging character of God, that He works out *everything* in conformity with the purpose of His will. Whenever I read Scripture, I get the feeling that the Lord is passionate about His work. And He extends to us the invitation to dive headfirst into His work and passionately work for the purpose of His will together with Him.
As you said - and as the Bible makes clear (Philippians 3:10-11) - this includes participation in Christ's sufferings and becoming like Him in His death. But praise Him that that's not the end.
I very much enjoyed reading your post today, Sarah, and meditating on the Scripture that the Lord brought to my mind through it. Thanks for writing it!
I love the book of Ephesians... its so packed full of great verses, like the one you mentioned - though the whole Bible is.
DeleteHe is unchanging... that's so comforting to think about in a world of uncertainty.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jordy!