Thy Will Be Done by A. M. L.

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 28, 1873

Thy Will Be Done.

By A. M. L.

To be able to say this with genuine submission to God at all times, is an attainment which perhaps few of us have yet reached. It is, however, the standard at which we are aiming—a standard that must be reached before we can be truly overcomers, or walking in the light as he is in the light. Our own wills naturally reach after temporal things—things of this world; that seem desirable to our comfort or pleasure, which bring no reward, only in obtaining present gratification. But yielding ourselves to God’s will, by seeking first the kingdom of Heaven, we shall find ourselves in the way to eternal life, and shall experience a joy

known only to those who have obtained a victory in this direction through rich grace. When buffeted and torn by the enemy, and almost ready to sink in the deep waters of affliction; when, with David, we can say, “All thy waves have gone over me,” we begin to cast about us and ask, “Is there not a cause?” By reflection on our past motives, and course, and present standing, and comparing with the unerring rule of God’s word, alas! that our own sins have brought the chastisements upon us to stop us in our ignorant wanderings from the right path—the path of self-denial and of duty, the only way to the favor of God. With a heart all smitten by that just and good law that is so exceeding broad—a spirit of contrition that melts before him for our waywardness, and a love to him for his long-suffering and compassion toward us, we again humble ourselves in his sight, as it becomes us to do. We confess our faults, and in all our weakness and ignorance cast ourselves on the never-failing mercy of God in Christ Jesus, and find the help we shall surely obtain at the foot of the cross; and no where else will Jesus be made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Oh! thank God! there is a balm in Gilead; there is a physician there. Come, O, come, friends, and try this marvelous helper, cast our care upon him, and so find rest—a rest that is akin to that sweet rest in Heaven. By following this rule, we shall by and by come to feel that it is more than our meat and drink to do our kind Father’s will.

A. M. L.