Thy Will vs. My Will

Am I living with God's will in mind, or my will in mind? I have a lot of desires, some of them from God, the rest I should purge because they are from the flesh. Here are the stories of some contrasting wills.

"My Will"

In Isaiah 14:12-15, the Scripture records the desires of Satan (I won't try to prove this is about Satan... that's another story). Notice how many "I wills" and "my" words you see here:

"How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit."

Number of "I wills": 5
Number of "my" words: 2
Result: He will be brough down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.

Another example is of a rich guy who had some plans for himself in Luke 12:16-20:

"And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "

Number of "I wills": 4
Number of other "he" "himself" or "my" words: 8
Result: God killed him

"Thy Will"

On a lighter note, this is what I should be doing, considering God's will. Jesus told us in Matthew 6 how to pray: "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done..." Not "my" will, but "thy" will.

Then, in Matthew 26:39, Jesus showed us how it's done: "Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Jesus was about to be killed for my sins, and He still submitted to God's will. Not as "I" will, but as "you" will.

Result: Sins of the world atoned for and washed away. Now He is seated at the right hand of God... a better setting than the "depths of the pit".

James echoes to us this reminder in chapter 4 of his letter:

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"

Not my will, but thy will.