Thy Will Be Done

So earlier I asked you to consider what the biggest mysteries of the Christian faith might be.

And there certainly are a lot of potential answers, aren’t there?

From theological mysteries like the incarnation to existential mysteries like the meaning of life…down to specific passages of Scripture that have inspired endless debate through the centuries…there are a lot of candidates for the title, “Biggest Christian Mystery.”

But as a pastor…I’ve found that for most people, the biggest mysteries tend to be very personal.

The biggest questions they have about faith are usually things that they have wrestled with on a deep and intimate level in their own life.

And perhaps none so much as the question that sits at the heart of where we land today in our series on the Lord’s Prayer, as we think about the petition: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Those words frame what ends up being one of the most-often asked questions I’ve heard in my almost 30 years in ministry:

“Pastor…what is God’s will? How can I find God’s will for my life?”

I’ve had it asked by students leaving university, couples considering marriage, adults facing an unexpected career transition…and I think it’s fair to say that most of us who follow Christ at one time or another have asked ourselves, “What is God’s will for my life?”

It’s an important question.

What are we saying when we pray, “Thy will be done?”

Last week we talked about what we mean when we pray, “Thy kingdom come,” I think it’s important to note that these two petitions are linked.

“Thy kingdom come…thy will be done” are two variations on the same theme.

We talked last week about what we mean by “thy kingdom come,” how a prayer for God’s kingdom is a prayer for lost people to be found, hungry people to be fed, hurting people to be helped…it’s a prayer for the in-breaking shalom of God to be known in our world.

It’s a powerful prayer.

And this week’s prayer is no different…and it echoes that same desire.

Thy will be done. Here on earth as it is in heaven.

In other words…in heaven, in the presence of God, his shalom is already known in a perfect way.

Because in the presence of God there is no pain, there is no hunger, there is no suffering, there is no war, no disease…there is only complete peace and wholeness.

In the heavenly kingdom…the purposes of God are perfectly known.

So when we pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” that’s really what we’re praying for.

We’re saying, “Lord…bring our lives here on earth into alignment with your peace, your priorities, and your purposes.”

But here’s the danger I see in this part of the prayer:

I think too often we think of these particular pleas of the Lord’s Prayer…thy kingdom come, thy will be done…we think of them as abstract concepts that exist “out there” in the world.

We pray these words thinking, “Lord…whatever you need to do ‘out there’ in the world…do it,” but we never really pause to think what our role in all of this is supposed to be.

We don’t make it personal. But I think we should.

I think it would be helpful for us if we shifted our focus a bit…so we could see this part of the Lord’s Prayer not just as a prayer of intercession…but also as a prayer of surrender.

In fact…that’s how Jesus models this prayer to us in our New Testament reading.

We heard earlier the anguished prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, as he faces the reality that he is soon to be arrested and killed.

Matthew tells us that as he contemplates this, his soul is overwhelmed with sorrow.

And so he heads into the garden to pray.

And what does he pray?

“Father…if it is possible…take this cup of suffering from me.”

But then immediately after that… “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Matthew says he pours out his grief in this same prayer THREE times, finishing each time with a prayer of complete surrender: “Lord, may your will be done.”

Now you and I will never be in the same position Jesus found himself in. We will never be asked to carry the burden he was asked to carry.

But I think we still find in this prayer of Jesus a perfect model for our own lives.

Because what Jesus is saying here is this: “Lord, whatever you have ordained for my life…I surrender to it completely.”

Wherever it takes me…whatever it leads to…I am willing to be led.

And I wonder sometimes…do I have that same willingness, that same commitment to surrender completely to God’s will?

I know I haven’t always had it.

(FOUGHT BECOMING A PASTOR)

This isn’t just true for pastors and people in ministry.

We all live in that tension between “our will” and “God’s will.”

And part of the journey to seeing God’s will unfold, not just in our lives but in our world, is setting aside our desires…so that God’s desires can come to the forefront.

Earlier we heard in Paul’s letter to the Romans a beautiful description of the kind of surrender we are called to live out as followers of Jesus:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Paul makes a direct link between surrender…making our lives a “living sacrifice”…and knowing the will of God.

Earlier I said that finding God’s will is the second most often asked question I receive as a pastor.

And when I’m asked about that…I often say that finding God’s will for our life is not a puzzle.

It’s not a Sherlock Holmes mystery that needs to be solved.

In fact, if we treat it like that…we’ve got a pretty messed-up image of God.

God is not stingy with his guidance.

Paul calls God’s will “good” and “pleasing” and “perfect.”

It’s not meant to be “frustrating,” “confusing,” and “uncertain.”

It’s not about a puzzle…or a mystery…it’s more about a posture.

A posture of surrender, of prayer, of self-sacrifice.

When it comes to God’s will…God is not looking for people who are clever enough to figure it out.

He’s looking for people who are humble enough to submit to it.

Let me say that again. If you remember nothing else from this morning, remember this:

God is not looking for people who are clever enough to figure out his will.

He is looking for people who are humble enough to submit to it.

Because I believe with all my heart that if we come to God with that humility, with that complete and total surrender that Jesus demonstrated for us at Gethsemane…God is not only willing…he is delighted to reveal his will to us.

Like I said…he’s not stingy about it.

He wants us to know his will.

In fact…truth be told…God has already revealed his will to us in some pretty specific terms in the pages of Scripture.

For example, when Jesus gives us the Great Commission: “Go into the world and make disciples,” that’s a revealing of God’s will.

And in fact…later on in Romans 12, Paul has a long list of things that are pretty clear about God’s will for his people.

Let me pick this up in verse 9 of chapter 12:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

You could spend a lifetime unpacking what’s in those verses and how they reveal God’s will for our lives.

Love sincerely.

Devote yourselves to one another.

Serve the Lord.

Share generously.

Practice hospitality.

Bless…rejoice…mourn…live in harmony.

What’s Paul describing here?

He’s describing…shalom. God’s peace and purposes coming to life in the world.

And he’s saying, “This is what happens when we submit ourselves completely to God and to one another.”

So when you and I pray, “Thy will be done,” part of what we’re saying is this:

“Lord I am willing to give myself completely to your plans and purposes for my life…my world…my church…everything.”

Now I don’t think we can address this subject without acknowledging…that there are times, as we seek to align our lives with God’s will…there are moments on this journey that don’t make sense.

There are bumps in the road…there are heartaches…there are even major tragedies that come our way.

And I speak from experience when I say that when they come, our commitment to God and his will can be severely tested.

Because part of what we’re doing when we surrender to God in this way…what we’re doing is we’re saying to God, “I trust you. I will give myself completely to your will because I trust you.”

And there are going to be times when that trust is shaken.

There are going to be times when we say, “Lord…how can any good come of this? How can your shalom be real even here?”

When I have found myself in that place…one of the stories I go back to time and again is the story we read of Jesus in the garden…pleading with God to take the cup of suffering from him, yet surrendering to God’s will above all else.

And what this story tells me…it tells me two things.

First…it tells me that Jesus understands my heartache.

When I have trouble understanding things that happen in my life…or in the lives of those I love…or in the world around me…

…Jesus knows that confusion. He knows that heartache.

Like the Old Testament tells us, he is a “man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.”

I am not alone when I wrestle with times of suffering.

The other thing I see in the story of Gethsemane is this: God’s will, God’s purposes…they may sometimes be too deep for me to fathom…

…but they are always good.

God’s will transcends our limited understanding.

He is able to take even the most horrible event in human history—the very murder of his own beloved Son—and bring out of it…victory…transformation…and salvation.”

So in those times when I don’t understand…I can still go to the garden. I can still go the cross.

And I can hear again the call to surrender and to trust.

Earlier we sang a hymn that reflected this kind of deep humility and surrender. Let me remind you of some of the words we sang:

“May the mind of Christ my Savior

Live in me from day to day,

By His love and pow’r controlling

All I do and say.

May the Word of Christ dwell richly

In my heart from hour to hour,

So that all may see I triumph

Only through His pow’r.

May I run the race before me,

Strong and brave to face the foe,

Looking only unto Jesus

As I onward go.”

Looking only unto Jesus as we onward go.

May that be true for us now and always.

Let us pray.