Perhaps the single most outstanding characteristic of Jesus' earthly ministry was His never wavering commitment to obeying the will of His Father.  In Matthew 26, as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to his arrest and crucifixion, He dreaded the upcoming wrath and separation from God that He knew would be necessary in order for Him to successfully pay the sin penalty for all of mankind once and forever, and, according to the Gospel of Luke, the unimaginable stress and mental anguish He suffered caused Him to sweat great drops of blood.  The thought of being separated from His Father, even if only temporarily, was an almost unbearable sorrow for Jesus, Who had never before been apart from Him, even into eternity past.  On two occasions during that night, Jesus prayed that this wrathful separation ("this cup") might pass from Him, but in both instances He ended His prayer by submitting Himself to the Father's will - "yet not as I will, but as you will" (v. 39) and "may your will be done" (v. 42).  It is noteworthy that Jesus could have called on God to deliver Him.  In Matthew 26:53, He asked, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"  Yet, in the very next verse, He again submits to God's will by saying, "But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”

Jesus had previously taught His disciples to pray "thy kingdom come, thy will be done," but His exemplary submission to His Father was never stated more clearly than in John 6:38 when He said, "For I have come down from heaven, NOT TO DO MY WILL BUT TO DO THE WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME."  Never before and never after has there been such a model for being completely sold out to God than Jesus.  Jesus was singular in His mission - to fulfill the will of His Father.  As Jesus' followers, we should be willing to say the same, but I fear that many of us (myself included) have placed limits on or attached conditions to our obedience.  "Lord, I will serve You but just don't ask me to _____ (fill in the blank)."  "Father, I will follow You, but only if it doesn't interfere with my own dreams and plans and desires."  "God, may Your will be done in my life as long as it doesn't inconvenience me or make me uncomfortable."  "Lord, but this...Lord, but that...."  Pretty soon the verse that I used as the title of this devotion starts sounding more like, "yet not as You will, but as I will."

Like Jesus, believers are called into a life of submission...to be God's servants...to take our marching orders from the Master.  We might be tempted to say, "Well, I'm not Jesus.  He had a supernatural ability to do His Father's will that I don't, so I can't be held to the same standard."  It is true that none of us are Jesus, yet that didn't prevent Him from saying to us in Matthew 5:48, "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Yes, in this world we still contend with our sin natures (something Jesus did not have), and no, we will never reach perfection in this life (as Paul writes in Philippians 3, we have not obtained, or arrived at, or taken hold of this goal that we press toward), but God has sent His Holy Spirit to indwell all His sons and daughters so that we might have a Helper in living godly, holy, righteous lives and so that we might obey His will.

"Father, help me to submit to Your good and perfect will, for only then will I truly bring glory and honor to You and only then will I truly experience life abundant.  Help me to be willing to lay down all my dreams, all my aspirations, and all my comforts so that Your will may be fulfilled and Your purposes accomplished.  Thank You that You have not left me to my own feeble devices to serve and obey You, but You have indwelled me with Your very Spirit to help me be all that You desire.  Holy Spirit, take Your throne on my heart and in my life and enable me to daily be like Jesus.  Amen."