Thy Will Be Done


By Carolyn L. Grice, North Omaha Community Activist, North Omaha Joint Community Ministry Partnership
There is an African American hymn called, Thy Way O Lord, Not Mine, written by Nina B. Jackson.  The earliest reference I could find as to when it was written was a publishing date in 1924. There is no information about Nina Jackson. I always think of this hymn when I hear the words, “Thy will, not mine.”
Thy way, O Lord, not mine,
Thy will be done, not mine;
Since thou for me did bleed,
And now do intercede,
Each day I simply plead,
Thy will be done.
Refrain:
Thy will, thy will be done,
Thy will, thy will be done;
Incline my heart each day to say,
"Thy will be done.

In that moment of angst felt by Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, he said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”  --Mark 14:36
Jesus knew that all things are possible through the Will of God. We often forget that as we go about our daily lives. Not my will, but God’s will. We are frightened about things over which we have no control. We want a shortcut through life to get what we think we deserve or our fair share. We want to do things our way, not God’s way.
God has an interesting way of reminding us who is in charge. It is not us!
There is so much hope in this passage. All things are possible with God. What would our lives be like today if we truly accepted the words ‘not my will but God’s will’?  And what would our lives be like if we truly believed all things are possible through God?
We are in some trying times now. We are trying to understand why there is such a resurgence in hate and racism. We are trying to understand how to cure a global pandemic. We should be trying to understand how to be better Christians through unusual ways of doing and being the Church. We are trying to understand how to embrace change.
It’s easy to become cynical and skeptical. This is when our faith calls on us to be strong. Our beliefs tell us that with God, all things are possible. Our trust should inform us. Our faith guides us.
Humanity has done some awful things. Throughout our time on earth we exploited each other, pitted race upon race, judged others based on gender, denied equal pay because of gender, ripped children from their families, turned our backs on those needing the most help, not taken care of our neighbors as ourselves, the list goes on.
Just when things seem so insurmountable is when we take a step back. We call on our faith to guide us. We ask for forgiveness. We seek God’s grace more than ever before. We pray because we know with God nothing is impossible.
Thy Will Be Done.

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