Matthew 26:42 – “…if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
Life hands all of us difficulties and challenges at times.
For some it is sickness.
Others find themselves in the pit of discouragement.
Many become bitter, thinking that God has forsaken them.
How we meet those challenges can best be taught by Benjamin Schmolck.
Schmolck was a minister in Germany in the 17th century during times of great challenges to faith.
Due to the powers that be, ministers were restricted in their duties.
Schmolck lived in the region of Silesia and served his whole life there. However, he was overworked.
He tried to minister to believers scattered over thirty different towns. The hours were hard and the burdens many.
At age 58, he suffered a stroke that left him with a withered right hand. For five years, he tried to continue his ministry until two more strokes made him bedridden.
He was most well known for his devotional writings and the writing of songs — over 900 of them. Those who heard them said they were straight from his heart.
And they must have been, for one of the ones we still sing echoes the heart of a man who finds life beating him down but his faith raising him up. He wrote:
My Jesus, as Thou wilt! / Oh, may Thy will be mine! / Into Thy hand of love / I would my all resign; / Through sorrow, or through joy, / Conduct me as Thine own, / And help me still to say, / My Lord, Thy will be done!
My Jesus, as Thou wilt! / Though seen through many a tear, / Let not my star of hope / Grow dim or disappear; / Since Thou on earth hast wept, / And sorrowed oft alone, / If I must weep with Thee, / My Lord, Thy will be done!
My Jesus, as Thou wilt! / All shall be well for me; / Each changing future scene / I gladly trust with Thee. / Straight to Thy rest above / I travel calmly on, / And sing, in life or death, / My Lord, Thy will be done!
It is that deep devotion to the will of God that allows us not just to endure life’s troubles but to conquer them.
Jesus went to the cross with those words on his lips.
Martyrs approached their death with that prayer offered.
So, when life gets hard, trust that God knows what he is doing. Stop and say, “My Jesus, as Thou wilt.”
- Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
