Your Will Be Done
October 31, 2008

“Without reserve, without ‘if,’ without ‘but,’ without exception, without limitation, Your will be done.” - Francis de Sales

Imagine living back in a time when kings truly were the sovereign power of the land. You are standing before the throne, and the crowned figure in front of you has just given you a command. And you say …

“Well, Your Majesty, I’d like to, as long as you bear in mind that …”

“I would be glad to do that, Your Highness, if you will do something for me in return …”

“Certainly I can do that, O King, but only after …”

A human king would never tolerate such disobedience, presumption, or half-heartedness. Yet we treat the Almighty God of the universe with such phraseology regularly. We point out how busy our lives are, so we don’t have time to do what he is calling us to do. We try to bargain with the omnipresent word “if.” We make exceptions to his commandments because we obviously have knowledge that he isn’t privy to.

It’s time to remember the circumstances in which Jesus himself spoke the words “Your will be done” … in the garden, sweating drops of blood, in the face of excruciating pain and agony, knowing he would bear the wrath of God in our place. Truly, Jesus was our living example of these words: “Without reserve, without ‘if,’ without ‘but,’ without exception, without limitation, Your will be done.”

• When is the will of God easy for you to do? When is it hard?
• When the will of God is hard for you to do, what actions, words, or attitudes make it easier for you to ignore and avoid his will?
• When the will of God is hard for you to do, what actions, words, or attitudes make it easier for you to commit yourself to accomplishing his will?