Jesus: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
- John 4:34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
- John 6:38 “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”
- John 8:28 “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.”
- John 9:31 “God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.”
- Mark 3:35 “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
- Matthew 6:10 “Our Father … your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
This passion never abates. As Jesus prepares for arrest, torture, trial and death he remains singularly committed to the purposes of God. Nothing else matters. He hopes (as any of us would) that his cup of terror might be taken away, but he stands firm: “Not my will, but yours be done”.
I too want to be obsessed with God’s will. I want obedience to be "my food", as it was for Jesus. BUT, I am NOT Jesus. Didn't he have an advantage over us? What I find striking about the Gethsemane prayer is this, if he did have an advantage he didn't employ it here. He wrestles. He sweats. He agonizes. And still he obeys.
His prayer is a helpful model. It demonstrates two essential exercises for training in obedience. Think of these as spiritual work-out routines.
An Extraordinary Resolution. Jesus prays: “Not my will, but yours!” It is like a stake in the ground. I need to pray the same declaration. Until I do, my natural impulse will be to plead the anti-prayer: “My will be done!” That is a prayer to another god. It is idolatry. It needs to be beaten down in self denial. When my ego can lay down its claim to sovereignty, then I am ready to explore God’s will. I dare not think this is easy, but I know it is right.
An Ordinary Conversation. “If you are willing”, implies: “Are you?” Jesus opens a conversation with God. There is a space here for wrestling with God and discovering his specific intent. Even for Jesus, obedience is a dialogue. Don’t race through the prayer too quickly. Jesus spent much of the evening battling. The wrestle is not a waste of time or even a shadow of disobedience. The painful wrestle is part of the posture of obedience. God does not seek to crush our spirits, but to align them with his.
Obedience is like a muscle. You need to work it to grow it. Resolving and Conversing are spiritual weight-lifting exercises. As we practice in the little things we build strength for the big tasks. Jesus was able to do God’s will in the closing hours of his life because he had been practicing his whole life long. Even when the burden of obedience was so great that he sweat drops like blood, he still did not falter. His disciples, on the other hand, failed for lack of training.
Today is a good day to begin an obedience workout. Your challenge is these two exercises: Resolve (Not my will!) and Converse (If you are willing?). Repeat them many, many times. Become obsessed!
Questions
- How do you practice renouncing your will and aligning with God's will? Has it cost you?
- What other actions help you to obey God consistently?
- Please leave a comment.
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It is a continual challenge to 'Resolve' Not my will but Your WILL be done. I have never found it easy and I'm glad it is a challenge- keeps life interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've found'Conversing' with God is easier the better you know God and his character. Conversations are always easier if you know the person well!!
This strikes me as somewhat counter to the current culture of only wanting to serve/do the things "I like", or that are fun. It's easy to obey in those times. Obedience is far more challenging when it's something that has very little reward and is not much fun, but needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteVery thought provoking and challenging. Easy to say and know what is the right thing to do - but often when you put it into practise that is another story! Conversing is the easy part - sometimes it is important though to stop and listen afterall a conversation is a two way thing. Often we are just too busy "doing", to really focus on the more important things in life. Thank you for the reminder of being obedient and obsessive with Resolving to do God's Will and conversing with God.
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