Let Your Will Be Done

If you’ve been a follower of Christ for a while, you’ve likely wondered what decisions God wants you to make. Certain decisions are quite clear in the Bible: do not steal, do not murder, do not commit adultery. But other decisions, the specific ones that may lead to two good outcomes, are difficult to determine.

I’m not sure where you are on your journey. Perhaps you are just entering the job market or anticipating retirement. Maybe you have been single your whole life or you are in a serious relationship. You could be figuring out where to move or when to have kids or who to stay close with as you enter a new season of life.

As for me, I’m wrapping up my second-to-last quarter of college and trying to figure out where God wants me next. Does He want me to find a full-time job related to my major? Would He rather have me pursue another degree? Should I try exploring a different career path entirely?

A piece of advice I received related to this conundrum has stuck with me:

Acknowledge your desires, then surrender them to God.

While this advice felt solid and biblical, I wasn’t quite sure how to surrender to God. I was left with a list of all the things I wanted and a burning feeling of guilt for holding onto them.

If you are in a similar place, I assure you that you shouldn’t feel guilty for wanting things, especially things that God desires for you, such as joy, purpose, community, and love. I assumed that the surrendering process would be significant and perhaps even physical, and while it is significant and can lead to physical actions over time, the surrendering process may actually feel quite gradual.

The best person to learn from in any situation is Jesus. When crucifixion loomed overhead, He drew near to God in prayer.

³⁶ Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

³⁹ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Matthew 26: 36-39

Jesus didn’t deny what He wanted, but He surrendered His will to God through prayer. Sometimes, we can feel distant from God because we are afraid of telling Him what we want. We are ashamed that we have desires that haven’t been met yet. Perhaps it even seems symbolic of a lack of faith.

The pendulum can swing the other way, too. We fall into the temptation of treating God as Santa Claus, demanding what we want and feeling utterly disappointed and hopeless when He doesn’t deliver in the way we wanted.

Jesus’ model is the perfect approach to take to prevent distance and disappointment. Come to God honestly with all of your feelings and hopes and dreams. This reveals great faith and vulnerability. Admit what you long for and what weighs heavily on your heart. Then ask for God’s will to be done no matter what and pray for peace in any outcome.

You may not see instant results the first time you pray (though I hope you are filled with peace). But if you continue this practice day after day, you may find yourself shedding your old perspective and embracing one of hope and anticipation for all the amazing things God has in store for you.

If you find yourself desiring things that don’t align with God’s will, ask Him for help in this process. Slowly, but certainly, you will find yourself eager for what God has planned for you. And when you face fear, sadness, or chaos, you will always know to whom you can turn. Your loving Creator, the one who knows you best.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship^[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Ephesians 1:4-10