Thy Will Be Done

​While visiting my sister in Denver my tall and athletic husband and I decided to jog up the foothills behind her home. The sun was setting so we raced to catch it. Following the steep trail in the thin air was a thrill. My husband, of course, was several feet in front of me when he came to a dead stop at the crest of one of the hills. As I approached he quickly shushed me, holding his hand up as if to say “stop.” And being the obedient wife I am (wink, wink), I stopped. 

As I approached he quickly shushed me, holding his hand up as if to say “stop.” And being the obedient wife I am (wink, wink), I stopped. ​

He pointed out to the right across the open field that now lay in front of us in the direction of the sunset and said, “Look at that.” I followed my gaze down the end of his finger out over a wide stretch of grass. The setting sun was casting its last beams directly into our faces and glowing amber, but I could still see their outline – a group of eleven regal deer rested, grazed, and watched us from about thirty feet away.

Their gentle silhouettes set a scene that left me kicking myself that I didn’t have my camera. So, instead of capturing stills, I stilled myself as Hubs and I quietly walked side by side down the path that wound a semi-circle around the other side of the herd. We were so close we could see them eyeing us, blinking, and twitching their ears.

When husband and I came upon them we were pushing hard up a steep grade, sweating and struggling. But in a matter of moments we both knew it was time to stop and be silent. The striking presence of God’s creation whispered PEACE to our souls and our reaction was to be still.

Burdens that I had climbed the hill with evaporated as God met us in that quiet place. A gift. It was as if they were placed there just for this moment and just for us. And there, in the gentle swaying of the grass under the watchful gaze of God’s creation, I was reminded of the one thing I forget most often.

Thy will be done.

Why was it that God chose that moment to remind me? The questions I had just been pondering now seemed so insignificant in the hands of the Creator who had designed and breathed life into this world. Why did he choose to whisper this message to my soul? If He can make that, put them here, allow my legs to carry me, and my eyes to process the image in front of me, then HE CAN. He can handle it. Whatever “it” is.
​
Thy will be done.

Of course, it is easy to remember that God is good and He is in control when you run across a herd of deer in a picturesque setting. But may I be like David, who in the midst of betrayal and fear stops mid rant to say, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22)

Yes, let me be like David.

Better yet, let me be like Christ who said in the garden while he awaited His betrayal and execution, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” (Matthew 26:42b)
​
Our questions, our fears, our doubts, and our decisions are no match for the all sufficient grace and infinite wisdom of the Almighty. So may we say it together, “Thy will be done.”

NOTE: This post was originally written in June 2016 for use at Ladies Night at Faith Baptist Church in Sarasota, Florida.