My Will, or Thy Will, Be Done?

6th Sunday of Easter – C                                                                                LSB #’s 894, 719, 699
Text – Acts 16:7
 
And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 
 
MY WILL, OR THY WILL, BE DONE?
 
 
At least in the Lutheran circles I’m grew up in,  it is a common ending to prayer: But Thy will, not mine,  be done.  Amen.    If God’s will  were yours   the sermon might end  right there.  “Pastor,  that was the best sermon ever – short & to the point!”       So,  how do you handle things when it becomes clear  that God’s will  is not your will? 
It’s one of the greatest dilemmas of being a member  of the kingdom of God.   It is God’s kingdom & not our own.  Somewhere along the way,  everyone who follows Jesus must come to grips with the fact  that He is not just  our Savior.    Jesus  is also  our Lord.   As Lord, He says to us, “If you love me,   you will keep my commandments.”  (John 14:15 ESV) 
That verse is not a prescription for how to get into the kingdom of God.    Rather,   it describes how people live  when they know why  they are already members  of God’s kingdom.  If you have ever been extremely thankful  for a gift you received,  then you’ve experienced what Jesus describes, “If you love me,   you will keep my commandments.”  (John 14:15 ESV) 
When we’ve experienced true gratitude for something,  then we’ve experienced what it is that motivates true obedience.   Loving Jesus as Savior  is what motivates our obedience to Jesus  as our Lord.  Once we get to heaven,  living that out will be simple & true.   Here on earth,  our sinful nature has corrupted our will  & causes  almost constant  spiritual amnesia. 
We learn the lesson of heartfelt obedience one moment.   We forget that lesson  the very next.   We realize that living as a child of God is a cyclical process  of learning & forgetting.    That process  necessitated Jesus’ death & resurrection.  In forgetting our lessons,  you & I  die.   Then the blood of Christ washes away our sins  & raises us back to life.  Learning & forgetting, death & resurrection,  that is life  in the kingdom of God  here on earth.  So,  how do you handle things  when it becomes clear  that God’s will  is not your will?   In the reading from the book of Acts,  Paul, Silas & Timothy  demonstrate how to handle it. 
Their intention, was to go to the churches Paul had planted in a previous journey, check on them & strengthen them.  They revisit the churches Paul planted in Derbe & Lystra, but then God redirects  their plan & they obey.   The book of Acts continues:
“…they went through the region of Phrygia & Galatia,  having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.  And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia,  but  the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.   So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night...”  (16:6-9 ESV) 
Paul, Silas & Timothy had made their plans,  proceeded to travel,  & twice  God’s Spirit interfered, making it clear that their will was not God’s.  The Bible doesn’t give us detail on what the interference was,  but all of us have been in those shoes.   We’ve made plans & things just didn’t line up,  leaving us frustrated, discouraged & at times, angry.   Obedience is not easy. 
Our lives are not recorded in the book of Acts, as Paul’s ministry was.   So,  when our plans are interfered with,  we don’t have God’s direct explanation of why.   However,  viewing Jesus as Lord, helps us resist Satan’s temptation to demand answers.   In 1 Peter,  it is written:
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.”  (1:14 ESV)   Those are not pleasant words to hear,  but they  well describe  our sinful nature.   Demanding answers of God  makes our ignorance  all too clear.  Psalm 25 describes the attitude of the saintly nature that God’s Spirit created in His children:
“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.  Lead me in your truth  &
teach me, for you are the God of my salvation;  for you  I wait all the day long.”  (25:4-5 ESV)   In my life,  God spent six years teaching me to wait, while I was in the US Navy.   According to Holy Scripture, waiting is anathema to our sinful nature.  It is a skill that must be taught & granted by the Holy Spirit,  & it is learned  against our stubborn will. 
To wait for the Lord  is to put into use the gift of the Holy Spirit that we call patience.  Waiting for the Lord to act  is the essence of faith.  You don’t wait for someone when you’re convinced they won’t show.   You wait  when you have hope that they will. 
Paul, Silas & Timothy didn’t know what God was going to do,  when He changed their plans.  However, they did trust that God would show up  along with His change in their plans.  They thought it best to share the Gospel of Jesus in one part of the world,  yet,  God directed them to another.  As we read the book of Acts,  it’s all wrapped up into a neat & tidy package. 
As we live our lives in complete ignorance of the future,  we don’t necessarily experience life’s changes  in a neat tidy package.  Our doubts & fears kick in.  Worry can overwhelm us.  What if questions  can appear everywhere we turn.   In my case, 5 years into my electrical contracting career,  God began to interfere  with thoughts that seminary might be in my future. 
What if  I have to get a bachelor’s degree first?  What if  the course work is too much for someone my age?  What if  I can’t afford to make it through?  What if  I can’t get over my fear of public speaking?    The devil knows our weaknesses  & constantly seeks to exploit them.   God’s Spirit  knows our weaknesses too,  & is wise & powerful enough  to overcome them. 
No matter how often we learn that lesson,  when the next challenge comes,  we typically forget  & need to be forgiven.   Because we cannot see the future,  life is what happens   while we are making other plans.   Jesus is Lord over all creation.   He sees & He knows the future,  & He brings it  into existence.  That ultimate future is what the reading from Revelation pictures for us: “‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’  And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, & showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,  having the glory of God,  its radiance like a most rare jewel,  like a jasper,  clear as crystal.”  (21:9b-11 ESV) 
That picture of holiness & perfection is the Christian Church.   Here on earth  it is much ridiculed & chastised.  It’s easy to look at the Church on earth & find fault,  but when you & I look at the Church on earth,  we are not seeing  as God sees. 
Likewise, it was easy to look at Jesus on the cross & ridicule Him for not being able to save Himself.  Yet, in heaven He is glorious.  Our eyesight is corrupted.  We see  only by faith.  Our crucified & resurrected Lord is  bringing a glorious future into existence  even as we worry about all the “What if” questions we can muster. 
When our health fails, we often ask, “Can this be what God wants for me?  This certainly isn’t the place  I want to be!”  We easily can end up frustrated, discouraged & at times, angry.   Obeying God’s will is not easy.  Trusting Jesus as Lord  is not as pleasant as trusting Him as Savior.  Yet, insisting on my will is idolatry & presumes that I am wiser than God. 
Jesus came  so that grace could be offered to us instead of judgment.  Grace is possible because of the One who  in the garden prayed, “Thy will, O God, not mine, be done.”  Grace comes to us because the Servant of the Lord submitted to the will of the Father to crush Him. Jesus was crushed by the judgment upon our rebellious idolatry.  
God’s Son went to the place where we should go – to hell itself.  But there  Christ also declared His victory over sin, a victory He shares with us in this Easter season & forevermore!  God closed doors in Asia & opened a door into Europe.  Paul went to Philippi in Macedonia.  There the Holy Spirit used Him as a messenger to bring the Gospel to people who’d never heard it before.  First Lydia was converted, then her household, then a jailer in Philippi.  Over centuries, much of the continent of Europe was converted!  From Europe the Gospel mission spread throughout the world.  It all happened  because Paul went  not to where he wanted to go, but where  God sent him.  
Some days we know, understand & agree with  where God is sending us.  On other days, we are completely oblivious.  Nevertheless, God’s Spirit is always with us, guiding, directing & forgiving us.  Wherever He is sending you  His grace will sustain you.   Wherever He sends you, the grace of almighty God  will be delivered through you. 
As the words of the Introit said, “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.  But I call to God, & the LORD will save me.  Evening & morning & at noon  I utter my complaint & moan, & He hears my voice.  He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage.”  (Psalm 55 ESV) 
Living as children of God is a process  of learning & forgetting.  In forgetting our lessons, we die.   Then the blood of Christ washes away our sins  & raises us back to life.   Learning & forgetting,  death & resurrection,  that is life  in the kingdom of God  here on earth.  It is our Lord’s gift to us,  & it is His will,  that we be rescued from this vale of tears. 
So we pray each day, “Lord,  Thy will, not mine,  be done.”  Amen. 
 
 
 
God knows what must be done to save me;  His love for me will never cease.   Upon His hands He did engrave me  with purest gold of loving grace.   His will supreme must ever be;  what pleases God,  that pleases me.     My God has all things in His keeping;  He is the ever faithful friend.   He gives me laughter after weeping,  & all His ways in blessings end.   His love endures eternally;  what pleases God,  that pleases me.  Amen.  LSB 719:2, 4.