“And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to Thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou will.” Mark 14:36
One of the biggest problems of today’s world, even within the Church, is that many no longer recognize God’s Divine Will in everything that happens in their life.
For the first decade of my new life in Christ, I ended most of my prayers, especially prayers of need or intercession, with “but, Father, not my will but Yours be done.” I thought i was being successful in surrendering my desires and needs to God’s Will over my own.
In each “not my will but Thy Will” I was saying “Look at how holy I am, so You should do what I want.” I found out quickly how much I was lying to myself and God. God opened my eyes to this ‘happy lie’ I had been hiding within my soul, hidden mostly from myself.
When my daughter was diagnosed with Lupus in 2009, my first prayer was “Thy Will be done”, my first prayer boomeranged on me as “how could You after all I’ve done?!? Aren’t I holy enough to get my way?” Even asking that question forces the answer of “absolutely not.”
When she was laying in that ICU bed clinging to life just four months later, I had passed beyond even pretending that I wanted God’s Will in the outcome that night. All the false walls of my castle of prideful prayer vanished as I lost all trust and faith in God. No “Thy Will” was found in my prayers. But, the seed of surrender had been planted by God deep within my soul. It was at this moment that He started watering it and pouring His Light to grow it.
Read my book, “I knew His Voice” for the full story of the days leading up to this moment and the night itself. “I knew His Voice” is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble – just click the hyperlink on either to open a new page and be redirected.
The key to our surrender lies in two things, being willing to ‘drink from the cup’ – that is, accept God’s Will in any event. And, reliance upon God. Even in total surrender and abandonment, it is still God Who does the majority of the work.
God took my situation and built upon it. I was placed in the garden and thought at the moment, I was unwilling to take the cup from His Hands, God started His works. Through God’s persistence and lessons, I finally started to surrender. I finally took the cup from His hands several years later and drank freely. It is God Who even completed the work of my surrender.