My Jesus, As Thou Wilt

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. If needy here and poor,
Give me Thy people’s bread, Thy Word, so rich and sure.
This manna from above, Let my soul feed upon;
And if all else should fail, My Lord, Thy will be done.

My Jesus, as Thou wilt. Though seen by 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. When death itself draws nigh,
Unto Thy wounded side for refuge I would fly
And, clinging to Thee, go where Thou before hast gone.
My times are in Thy hand: 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.
Thus to my home above I travel calmly on
And sing in life or death, My Lord, Thy will be done.

The particular phrasing “as thou wilt” comes from the words of Jesus found in Matthew 26:39 KJV where Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane.  That Scripture reads “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  This simple phrase and others like it (Thy will be done, Lord willing, etc.), seem so easy to say, don’t they?  But for me, the question is “Do I really mean it when I say it?”  Do I want His will when it goes against my personality, my desires, or my plan for my life?  Do I mean “Thy will be done” as long as it means I don’t have to get out of my comfort zone?  This hymn is a great reminder of some of the practical places we might have to go, or difficult things we might have to do, as we pursue His will in our life.

Couple of comments on the lyrics: 

• “If needy here and poor” – Would the Lord call someone to be poor?  That is not a question most Americans want to ask ourselves.  We have grown pretty accustomed to our lifestyle in this country.  But I am reminded of what Paul said in I Corinthians 9:19-22.  He said “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”  I think he could just have easily have written “To the poor, I have become poor that I might reach the poor.”  I don’t think this is a stretch at all.  If being needy and poor here on this earth would help someone to win the riches of eternity, I can understand why this might be a place the Lord leads one to.  Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”  If Christ chose to become poor to reach the world, wouldn’t that be a place He might call one of us to go so that we might reach others?
• “And sing in life or death” – As human beings, death is a natural part of life, and most people find their own way of dealing with death, especially the death of a loved one.  As Christians, we have a hope that we will see our saved family members and loved ones in heaven one day and that is an encouragement to us.  But I wonder how often singing is a part of dealing with death.  In various stages of life, singing is one of those things we all do.  We sing to our babies.  We sing at church.  We sing with the radio as we drive up the highway.  We sing at weddings, baseball games, and high school graduations.  But do we sing in death?  At the funerals I have attended, there always seems to be some type of music, but rarely do I recall much singing at funerals.  Maybe the grief is too overwhelming for folks to sing.  But, if we attend the funeral of one who we know has gone to be with the Lord, wouldn’t that be something worth celebrating, rejoicing, and singing about?  Wouldn’t it be a testimony to the world that we are confident that the Lord has brought our loved one home, and we sing because we are happy knowing that truth?

One of the first pieces of advice that I was given when I became a parent was “Your children will sometimes do as you say, but more often will do as you do.”  This applied to reading the Bible, attending church regularly, tithing, as well as using good manners at the dinner table.  The phrase that reiterates this concept is “more is caught than taught.”  Our children tend to “catch” more good (and bad) habits, than they learn good or bad habits.  It is unfortunately a true reality in our lives.

Although Jesus was the greatest teacher that ever lived, His teachings weren’t just words.  He also gave us the greatest example of how His teaching’s were to be applied in our lives.  As this hymn reminds us, He set aside His will for the benefit of others.  Not because it was easy.  Not because He didn’t have a choice.  But because He wanted to leave us an example to “catch” and follow.  Paul reminds us in Philippians 2 what a “Thy will be done” attitude looks like:

 “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 
 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!”

I hope your prayer today is “As Thou Wilt.”  Not because it will always be an easy prayer to pray.  I hope you don’t pray this prayer half-heartedly.  But that this prayer is an earnest plea from your heart with all humility – because Christ left that kind of example for us to follow.