Wednesday, April 6, 2011

"As You Wish"

     "Buttercup was raised on a small farm in the country of Florin.  Her favorite pastimes were riding her horses and tormenting the farm boy that worked there.  His name was Westley, but she never called him that.
     "Nothing gave Buttercup as much pleasure as ordering Westley around. . . .  'As you wish' was all he ever said to her. . . . [One day when she asked him to fill buckets with water] she was amazed to discover that when he was saying, 'As you wish,' what he meant was, 'I love you.'  And even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back."
               -The Grandfather, an opening scene from The Princess Bride

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
              -The Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples, the night before His crucifixion, John 14:15


   My Father asks me, invites me:


   "Will you trust Me with this dear one facing unexpected job loss with a mortgage and hungry little mouths to feed?"


   "Will you trust Me with these faithful disciples facing the long, arduous recovery from a stroke, all their resources strained?"


   "Will you trust Me with this friend, longing for a womb filled with child but facing instead a body filled with cancer?"


   "Will you trust Me with these gospel workers you love, weary with heartache and toil beyond their strength, these ones whose needs you cannot supply?"


   "Will you trust Me with your body, with illness and health, with the collateral damage from both the inactivity and medicines prescribed for your recovery?  With the impact of your weaknesses on others?"

   "All these problems you cannot solve. . . 


   "Will you trust Me?"


   Faith responds, "As You wish,"  and "as You wish" means, "I love You."


   "As I wish" breaks the first and greatest command to love the LORD my God first, with all, nothing held back.


   "As I wish" thinks too highly of the illusion of my own wisdom and judgment and too little of the steadfast love, faithfulness, goodness, and mercy of God.


   "As I wish" forgets my Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating blood and praying as He faced the cross, "Not as I wish, but as You wish."


   "As you wish" means, "I love you."

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11, HCSB).


"No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13, HCSB).


Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us  and sent His Son to be the  propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10, HCSB).


We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19, HCSB).


Abba, Father, forgive me for withholding love from You by fighting for my wishes instead of Yours.  Thank You for the example of Christ, who chose Your will for love of You and for love of Your children.  Even for love of me.  I repent in dust and ashes.  Let His Spirit in me strengthen and change me to pray and truly mean, "Abba, Father, as You wish."  In Christ our Lord, Amen.


Please click below if you'd like to meet more bloggers walking with the Holy Experience community towards Gethsemane, Calvary, and the empty tomb.

12 comments:

  1. Beautiful words to start the day. Thank you for this… “as you wish”... Love that.
    I checked out your profile and noticed that we share many of the same favorite books (Hind's Feet, Anne series, Narnia Series, A Little Princess). Nice to find you through Ann’s.

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  2. @pathoftreasure It's lovely to meet a kindred spirit. :) Thank you for stopping by and taking time to introduce yourself.

    The Lord be with you and bless you today!

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  3. Such a beautiful post, what a wonderful way to express the prayer "Thy will, not mine"!

    Thanks.

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  4. @LuAnne Thank you for visiting, LuAnne, and for your encouraging feedback. The Lord be with you today!

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  5. I'm praying for more faith to trust, trust, trust.

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  6. @Lisa notes... Yes, Lisa! Me, too! The Lord be with you.

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  7. wow -- this is beautiful! I never thought about it like that. Keeping my trust from God is really me keeping my love from Him. Thank you for the eye-opening post!

    Lauren
    http://becauseimyours.blogspot.com/

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  8. @Lauren Thank you for your encouragement, Lauren. (So I haven't scared you off yet?) It was a new perspective for me, too.

    The Lord be with you and grow you in trusting and loving Him.

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  9. "As You Wish" does = I Love You. And it also brings such peace, even in the midst of struggle.

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  10. @Amy Yes, it does.

    (This post partly arose from our comment discussion a couple of weeks ago on why we find it so hard to surrender. Thanks for getting me thinking!)

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  11. Thank you for this perspective!

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  12. @Elisabeth You're welcome, Elisabeth. Thank you for sharing your day with me. The Lord be with you!

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Thank you for sharing your day with me! Your presence here is a gift. *You* are a gift. Right now I am unable to reply to every comment, but please know I read and pray for each and every commenter. Grace and peace to you in Christ.