God"s Will Be Done

 10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven. – Matthew 6:10

42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." – Matthew 26:42

At LEAST every Sunday, we ask for God’s will to be done.  Most of us pray it very often, especially in circumstances where we feel helpless and realize we are not in control.  Deep down, we know God’s will is best and we really do want it… until we get it.  

Even Jesus lived his entire earthly life doing God’s will… wanting God’s will… letting God work his will through him.  And yet when it came to the end, Jesus asked if it would be possible to do it differently, he’d rather not take that last step.  Of course he ended by saying, “But your will be done” but we know how hard that acceptance was.

God’s will inevitably brings change into our lives.  And we all know how we feel about change.  Even when something good is coming into our lives through that change, we often have to let go of things we’ve grown comfortable with… and we can become comfortable with some pretty bad situations and circumstances. 

We see this in the lives of children who have to be removed from abusive homes.  They have known nothing else and love their parents in spite of the way they have been treated.  It is an awful ordeal for authorities to have to take them away from the only parents they’ve ever known, but as adults we know what is best for them and that they will lead happier and more productive lives with families that will care for them properly.

We see it in the lives of addicts.  Even though he was diagnosed with lung cancer, my dad smoked until the day he died.  He could not handle a change that might have made his final months a little more comfortable.  A person in my neighborhood was recently hospitalized with liver problems.  He was told that if he doesn’t quit drinking, he will die soon.  So far, so good, but he’s been drinking a lot for a long time and he refuses to get help from a support group.  He’s tried to quit on his own before, but again… change is hard.

When we pray for God’s will to be done, we better be prepared for it.  We had better be prepared to give up those things we have become comfortable with.  We had better be prepared to face some challenges.  We had better be prepared for some hard work.  God’s will does not just come and change things like magic. 

So maybe we should stop praying for God’s will to be done??  No… not hardly.  God’s will is going to be done regardless.  But when we fight it, lives and ministries die or stagnate.  We live… maybe in a comfortable haze… but in a haze nonetheless.  We only end up delaying God’s will or sending the blessings of His will in another direction.  Change is inevitable and so is God’s will.

Lord God,
We want your will to be done in our lives, but we are afraid of the pain we might have to endure to arrive at it.  Strengthen us and give us courage to face the challenges that will make our lives and our ministries what you intend for them to be.  Amen.

Joys: day camp activity at church; time with the granddaughter today; chats with Richard