Your Will, Not Mine

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39

WE TEND TO THINK that if we are really good and really godly, then God will be inclined to say yes to our prayers. We think the secret to getting the answer we want from God is to try our best to be in close fellowship with him. But in the prayer of Jesus to his Father in the garden of Gethsemane, we discover the fallacy of that assumption. Was there ever anyone as good or godly as Jesus? Was there ever anyone who was in closer fellowship with God the Father? Yet here is Jesus, asking his Father to accomplish the salvation of sinners in some other way, and God, through his silence, says no.

It is good that we get to overhear this conversation between Jesus and his Father. It helps to know that Jesus wrestled with God’s plan for his life —and his death —even as he submitted to it. We, too, have wrestled with God’s plan for our lives even as we have sought to submit to it.

Perhaps you have wondered: God, could it possibly be your plan for us to never be sure if we’ll have enough money to pay the bills? Could it possibly be your plan for us to spend years in a less-than-perfect marriage? Could it possibly be your plan for our children to struggle instead of sail through life? How can you come to a place of acceptance when God says no to your reasonable, repeated requests?

Let’s listen closely to how Jesus did it. Even though Jesus was struggling as he told God what he wanted, he was resolute about what he wanted most of all: “I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus was able to submit what he wanted to what he wanted more. He had a greater longing that trumped and trampled his desire to avoid enduring the judgment of God on our behalf. And that was to fulfill the purpose and plan of God.

Father, I need to grow in my confidence in your perfect plan and purposes so that I can put my desires into proper perspective. I need my faith in your goodness and justice to loom so large that I can entrust myself and our family to you without fear or resentment. Help me to truly believe that the joy of surrendering to your will —whatever it may be —will be worth whatever it may cost.