I'm pretty sure there are not too many of us that would do that. Not too many of us that would say, "Lord, if Your will is to cause me the utmost pain for your glory, then do it." Not too many that would give Him permission. No, no, we want comfortable and pleasurable and peaceful. If "yet not as I will, but as You will" means loss and pain, we're not too keen for it. But Jesus knew. He knew that the intent was good and the goal was good and the process was the only viable process to accomplish this good. So He gave Himself up ... to pain.
We pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10), but do we mean it? I want to. Frances Brook wrote the hymn, My Goal is God Himself.
My goal is God, Himself.Are you okay with that? Do you really want God's will, regardless of the cost? I guess that would depend on how much we trust Him.
Not joy or peace or even blessing,
but Himself, my God.
'Tis His to lead me there --
not mine, but His.
By any road, dear Lord,
at any cost.
4 comments:
I would say that I'm OK with YHWH's will being done, yet I don't think that I necessarily live like I'm OK with it.
This general “battle of wills” is a constant one for me, i.e. when to live and function as a strong-minded person and when to be content to be a “sheep.” When you add in the factor of yielding to an unpleasant or even painful existence, I do balk, in all honesty. I might dutifully say “whatever you see fit, Lord,” but my heart of hearts is saying “hopefully not that.”
Traveling from head to heart can be a lengthy journey, eh, Craig?
Absolutely. Feelings aren't reliable, but they can be powerful.
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