Articles
Your Will Be Done
* * * * * * * * * *
"Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." (Lk. 22:42)
* * * * * * * * * *
Jesus sought solitude in the Garden of Gethsemane because He knew what awaited Him in the morning. His prayer to His Father was emphatic: "Take this cup away from Me." He didn't want to go through with this experience anymore than we would. If there was any possibility of a Plan B, please, Father, let's go that route.
But the Father did not grant His request (which by itself should tell us that prayer is not a vending machine dispensing goodies on demand). Instead, Jesus had to go through an excruciating torture and death. Deep in His heart, He knew there was no other way. That's why He ended His prayer, "Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." He steeled His soul for the task, and saw it through to the bitter end.
Up to this point, doing God’s will had not been all that hard for Jesus. The adulation of the crowds, the tears of joy on the faces of the people He healed, the worship of good-hearted disciples who saw Him as their Messiah--all of this had been bearable, even pleasant. There were enemies who ridiculed and mocked Him, of course, but He could deal with that.
But here at the end, there was nothing pleasant or personally fulfilling about doing God's will. In fact, it was pure hell. “Take this cup away from Me” is not the prayer of a fearless warrior going out to meet his foe; it is the cry of a condemned man facing a horrible execution.
Yet for all His human fear of what was coming, Jesus did not flinch: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” He grimly held to His Father’s plan, went to the cross, and purchased our glory.
Remember that the next time you are faced with a divine mandate that vexes your soul. God is not in the business of making you happy. He has a much bigger design in view, and sometimes that design requires that you, like your Master, make a painful sacrifice. You may not see the value in it now, but someday it will all make sense.
“Not my will, but Yours be done.” Make these words of Jesus your own, and you will find the strength to endure whatever life throws at you.
--David
