“Have Thine Own Way” - Adelaide Addison Pollard

1862–1934

The 1890s saw a new excitement among American Christians about missions. International travel was becoming ever easier, and many converts from D. L. Moody’s revivals were looking to put their faith into action. The Student Volunteer Movement had taken shape in the late 1880s with a stated goal of “evangelization of the world in this generation.” In many churches, if you were truly serious about following Christ, you’d be headed for the foreign missions field.

Such was the attitude of Adelaide Pollard, a young woman from Iowa. She felt called by God to be a missionary in Africa, but her attempts to raise financial support fell short. For a number of years, her missionary dreams languished, leading to serious discouragement.

Then one night in 1902, she attended a prayer meeting and heard an older woman say, “Lord, it doesn’t matter what you bring into our lives—just have your way with us.” This inspired her to turn to the extended metaphor of the potter and the clay in Jeremiah 18:6—“As the clay is in the potter’s hand,” the Lord said, “so are you in my hand.”

Putting pen to paper, Pollard wrote the text for what became a well-known hymn of dedication, “Have Thine Own Way.”

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

She went on to teach at the Nyack, New York, training school of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, also becoming known as an evangelist and healer. Then she finally got to Africa for a short time but had to leave when World War I broke out. After the war, poor health kept her stateside.

Face it—some of us are very good at telling God what we want to do for him. We have our dreams of conducting certain ministries, and when they don’t pan out, we’re confused. Why, Lord? I’m doing this for you! Why are you making it so hard to serve you?

We forget that he’s the Boss, we’re the servants. He’s the Potter, we’re the clay. He gets to decide when, where, and how we serve him.

Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”

Romans 9:20