Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done–Luke 22:42
Someone has said that these words of Jesus are the most difficult—and most important—words that we can learn in any language: not my will, but Thine, be done.
To say these words sincerely and from the heart takes conviction, courage, and faith. It means trusting that God really is wiser than you are and really does love you more than you love yourself. It means trusting, like Jesus trusted, in the perfect wisdom of God.
Although Jesus’ will was always in perfect harmony with His Father’s (John 6:38-39), ours often is not. The things that we assume would make us happy and contented He seems to withhold from us at times, and the things we seek to avoid are the very things that He frequently allows into our lives.
Is there some sickness, heartache, pain, instability, demotion, or tension that you are facing at the moment? Rather than looking for the nearest exit from your trial—by whatever means you can devise—turn to God first and take your need to Him in prayer. The same God who created your world can certainly sustain, heal, strengthen, and direct your life.
Pray for deliverance; pray for strength; pray for direction… and pray, “Not my will, but Thine, be done.” These words are difficult, because they hand the most precious parts of our life over to God. But they are liberating, because they recognize that we are in God’s hands anyway and, if we understood the situation perfectly, we would certainly want whatever God wants for us.
Dear believer, there is no prayer (outside, of course, a prayer for something that is already revealed in God’s Word as sinful) that you cannot take to God with these precious words: not my will, but Thine, be done.–“A Good Thing”
