Thy Will Be Done

by Norline Rendall

Bible Reading: John 14:26-27

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. ( Johm 14: 16-18 )

One of our Bible school students received word that her father was dying. It was a shock. Her father had been active, vibrant, and apparantly in the best of health. He was only in his fifties. Why should the Lord be taking him home so soon? Why wouldn’t he be allowed to keep on, active in Christian work and faithful in missionary support? What would they do with out their devoted father and husband?

After the funeral Dorothy wrote us this note: “The Lord worked and timed everything perfectly, so even my older brother was able to be home from Africa to see Dad before he died and to be at the funeral. The Lord’s grace and strength have been sufficient at this time as He promised. A clear salvation message was given at Dad’s funeral, and this resulted in many opportunities to witness for Christ. Many of Dad’s business associates came and asked questions.”

And her mother wrote: “His homegoing has been quite a shock to me; however, I do not question the Lord as to why He took him. Through this ordeal I have experienced the sustaining grace of the Lord, and praise Him for all He has done for me.” Each of us has her own time of trial and grief to bear. How does sorrow affect us? Does it get us down, burden us night and day, or do we say, “Thy will be done, Father. I will not question why.”

Oh, don’t misunderstand me! Sorrow is a terribly real and heavy burden. It is indeed natural to feel keenly the loss of a loved one: the emptiness and loneliness which he leaves behind, the many reminders that stab our hearts and bring tears to our eyes. These reactions are not wrong.

But our loving heavenly Father gives us His Comforter to sustain us, to make endurable those days of heavy trial.

“Thy Will Be Done ” is from: Norline Rendall’s book- Just a Taste of Honey. Moody Press – copyright 1975 – used with permission