“‘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
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