Recently I heard for the first time a song called ‘Thy will be done’ by Hillary Scott and the Scott Family on the radio. Before the DJ played the song, he announced that it had been written after she had had a miscarriage and had been hurting badly. While I don’t know what it’s like to have experienced such a tragic loss, the words of her song resonated with me.
“I’m so confused / I know I heard you loud and clear / So, I followed through / Somehow I ended up here / I don’t wanna think / I may never understand / That my broken heart is a part of your plan / When I try to pray / All I’ve got is hurt and these four words.”
‘Thy will be done.’
Sometimes I think that I’ve heard God so clearly, but I still don’t understand the instructions, nor do I understand the hurt that follows. How can this be all a part of His plans?
Then as I’m contemplating my topic this morning, I’m sent to the book of Hosea, where not even two days ago, my friend had been reminding me of the story of Hosea and Gomer. You see, I’m finding more and more about God’s leading and his sense of humor. Hosea 1:1 states, ‘The word of the Lord that came to Hosea…’ It clearly states that God’s words came to Hosea. There’s no second guessing there. God tells Hosea to take himself an ‘adulterous wife, and have children of unfaithfulness’. I’m sure Hosea must have started asking God if he was hearing correctly. By the way, I forgot to mention the Hosea was a prophet. Imagine that! A prophet, man of God, with a wife he knew going into the marriage that she would be unfaithful to him, time and again, and children who would also be unfaithful, and even their names conveyed their level of unfaithfulness. But guess what? Hosea obeyed! Wow.
This is truly a case of ‘Thy will be done’. God needed to remind Israel (and us) that even in our unfaithfulness and our adultery, that He is the sovereign God, and that he has the grace and power to forgive us. It is a great reminder to me, just how patient God’s love is for us. Hosea even had to buy back his wife from slavery after one of the times she ran away to find other lovers/be a prostitute, and even then God told Hosea to show Gomer love, and then promised that she was to live with him many days. And so it is with God’s love for Israel and all the times they had turned to idols.
How many times do you think you’ve heard God speak to you, but can’t see how His instructions are being carried out? Do you think it’s ended up in loss or hurt? Don’t despair, God keeps reminding us (me) that His ways are not our ways and that we can trust him.
Lord, let thy will be done, even though sometimes we may doubt that we’ve heard you clearly. We know that you know the beginning from the end. Help us to follow the path that you have set for us, knowing that you know the plans that you’ve set for us and that all things work together for those who love you.