Story Time: Yet Not As I Will

“‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’” 

Matthew 6:10 

Frankly I am caught in a web of wills—God’s, mine, and the varying wills of others. That is what happens when you are in the midst of a story. So I am going to go to a story in the Bible instead of the one I’m in.

You see, Jesus was also caught in a web of wills—His and His Father’s and the will of others.
In the Garden of Gethsemane we can easily sense His intense agony during the battle between His will and that of the Father; yet He checked out all the possibilities: “My Father, if it is possible (Matthew 26:39); but, if it is not possible (Matthew 26:42); to be clarified by, yet everything is possible (Mark 14:36); to be ultimately qualified, if you are willing (Luke 22:42).

It is clear to me that nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). He could have taken this cup from Jesus; that was not His will. Rather, this was God’s plan for eternity.  

What happens in the circumstances we are in? I believe again that nothing is too big for God. He can heal your child, fix your marriage, cure your addiction. And most of the time these things are in His will. Search the Scriptures for yourself and you will find this to be true. However, it could be a matter of timing; it could be a factor of the bigger plan. 

Curious to me is that Jesus even thought there was a chance He would not have to drink the cup being handed Him. Truth is, as the Son of man Jesus had the same free will you and I have. The choice was His—go to the Cross, or not. His battle with the possibilities made that clear. Once He settled the issue of possibility and concluded that God was not willing, He was able to agree with the will of the Father.

Sometimes I can easily agree; sometimes I have not always wanted what I know to be the Father’s will. When that happens I have to look God’s will squarely in the face and adjust my will to His. For example, I know God wants families to stay together and addicts to be sober.

One major problem still exists—I have no influence over the one whose will does not agree, the one who exerts his free will in opposition to God’s. That means God’s will may not be done.

Our agony, as we stand around watching, is no less acute than that of the women at the Cross who did not understand this was God’s will. We may comprehend; still we are helpless to do anything but pray, and leave it in the hands of the Father. Yet as Jesus commissioned the apostle John, from the cross, to look after His mother, we are confident He will look after those in His will, be it in a broken marriage or when living with an addict.

What a great day when God’s will is done on earth, without fail. Hmm—heaven on earth?

Nancy P