Luke 22:41-42 – And [Jesus] was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (KJV)

Have you ever composed and sent off what should have been a perfect document, only to find that a serious error either in spelling or word placement had taken place? Very frustrating! You have been there, too?

I was preparing a PresbyCan devotional and had read through my rough draft too many times not to have it perfect.

On entering it into the online Submissions Form, everything was going very well. Fortunately, we can edit the submission as many times as needed to make sure that it is perfect. It looked perfect, so I pressed the "Submit" button. Done!

A few seconds later, I received an email from PresbyCan telling me that my submission had been received and that I could secure a copy, which I did. Done!

Then, horror of horrors, I read the title: "Not Thy Will, But Mine"! I looked at my copy to make sure that I had read it correctly. What to do? I couldn't call the editor, Robin, at 1:30 a.m. as I was tired, and it was late! I looked at it again, and it had changed from a 12pt font to a 96pt font — it was humongous! I panicked.

With over fifty years in the ministry, how could I have written such a blasphemous title? I had checked the document; how could I have overlooked this serious error? Or was it an error? Perhaps it was a revelation that I actually felt that way about my God and my relationship with Him. I am sure that I heard Satan snicker somewhere in the background.

1 John 3:8 – He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (KJV)

I was reading this verse when the phone rang, and I almost jumped out of my skin. I answered it, and it was Robin at 1:30 in the morning. "Hello, Stephen. Are you sure that you want to use that title for your submission that I just received?"

Then, I woke up! It was a nightmare! However, I suspect that I'm not alone in realizing that "not Thy will, but mine" describes my life far too often. May God grant all of us the willingness to recognize that as the Lord of our lives, Jesus deserves our unconditional obedience, for His will is perfect and He is always good! That's the only way to change "not Thy will, but mine" into "not my will, but Thine".

Prayer: Father in heaven, grant us the grace to listen for Your will and the courage to obey it. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.