Not My Will But Yours: Embracing God's Will

Devotional

Day 1: Bored of the Instructions

When we abandon God’s design for our shortcuts, chaos follows. Like a half-built Millennium Falcon with mismatched bricks, life becomes unstable when we ignore divine guidance. Sin isn’t just rebellion—it’s settling for a fractured version of what God intended. Our pride convinces us our way is better, but the result is always incompletion. Peace comes not from self-directed tinkering, but surrendering to the Maker’s blueprint. [37:54]

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!” (Psalm 119:11–12, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you grown “bored” of following God’s instructions in your relationships, habits, or decisions? What broken “bricks” reveal the cost of your self-directed rebuilding?

Day 2: The Weight of a Thousand Wars

Human history is a ledger of bloodshed—195 nations echoing Eden’s rebellion. From family feuds to global conflicts, our collective “my way” leaves scars. Sin isn’t abstract; it’s the sum of every stolen inheritance, every silent dinner table, every bombed village. Yet Christ entered this violent equation, bearing the full weight of our war-torn story. [41:27]

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—” (Romans 5:6–7, ESV)

Reflection: What personal or generational conflict most weighs on you? How does Jesus’ absorption of history’s violence reshape your view of current struggles?

Day 3: The Cup That Aligned Heaven and Earth

In Gethsemane, divinity and humanity collided. Jesus trembled not at nails, but at drinking the cup of wrath meant for rebels. His “not my will” wasn’t resignation—it was the hinge of redemption. Where Adam’s garden disobedience fractured creation, Christ’s garden obedience began its mending. One prayer in moonlight changed daylight for billions. [45:26]

“And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’” (Matthew 26:39, ESV)

Reflection: What “cup” are you begging God to remove? How might surrendering it—as Jesus did—unlock purpose beyond your pain?

Day 4: Learning Obedience in the Unthinkable

Even the sinless Son learned submission through anguish. His perfect humanity didn’t bypass struggle—it hallowed it. Every sleepless disciple, every silent heaven, every lash became a classroom. Our own trials aren’t detours from God’s will but the path itself. What seems like God’s absence is often His finest sculpting of our “yes.” [46:06]

“Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,” (Hebrews 5:8–9, ESV)

Reflection: What suffering have you resented as interruption rather than instruction? How might Christ’s Gethsemane journey reframe your hardest “lesson”?

Day 5: Peace in the Falcon’s Wake

Obedience feels like losing control—until the bricks snap into place. God’s peace isn’t the absence of storms, but the presence of alignment. Like a finished starship humming with purpose, souls walking His way find stability no chaos can shake. The path narrows, but the Builder walks it with us, one surrendered step at a time. [51:12]

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7, ESV)

Reflection: Where does your life still resemble a half-built mess? What one “brick” of obedience could you place today to advance God’s restoring work?

Sermon Summary

The claim is simple: life works better when people trust God’s will, because God is God and human beings are not. “My will, my way” sounds free, but it leads to sin, frustration, and something that does not look like what the Maker intended. The Lego picture says it plainly: a person can get bored of the instructions and build the Millennium Falcon in a new direction, but the result is weird, wrong, and unsatisfying.

God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven stands over the whole picture. The world shows what happens when God’s will is not done. War, famine, injustice, horror, massacre, broken families, broken marriages, and people failing even their own standards all say the same thing. Sin is not just “out there” in history or in 195 countries across thousands of years. Sin is also in towns, homes, relationships, and the human heart.

Adam and Eve show the inheritance of “my will, my way.” The Garden of Eden becomes the place where temptation is believed, God’s instruction is set aside, and sin enters with all its pain. That sin is painful to human beings, but it is also painful to God, and God must punish it. The question becomes massive: how can all that sin be dealt with?

Jesus Christ stands as another man in another garden. In Gethsemane, the night before the cross, Jesus knows the sins of the world are going to bear down on him. His disciples cannot even stay awake, showing human weakness, but Christ prays in perfect obedience. His prayer, “not my will, but yours,” is the moment where heaven and earth align in the person of Christ. He faces the final temptation to avoid the cup, yet he embraces the wrath he did not deserve.

Christ’s crucifixion pays the debt, wipes out sin for those who trust in him, and opens the safe passage into glory. His resurrection on the third day declares that death and judgment have not won. The victory must then mean something for daily life. God’s will becoming a believer’s way means keeping in step with the Spirit, confessing sin, loving God’s law, and learning that obedience brings peace. That peace is not always easy, and it may come in strange, hard places, but God promises to be there with his people in it.

##

Key Takeaways

1. My way makes a mess “My will, my way” does not simply create a different version of life. It produces something bent out of shape from the design of the One who made it. The Lego picture works because sin often begins with boredom toward God’s instructions, then ends with a life that feels unsatisfying and wrong. [38:47]
2. Sin is bigger than history The darkness of war, injustice, family breakdown, and personal failure all belongs to the same deep problem. Sin is not merely a headline, a political issue, or somebody else’s wickedness. The honest look inward shows that even personal standards are too high for the human heart to keep. [42:20]
3. Christ chose the cup Gethsemane shows the obedience of Christ under the full weight of what no mere human could bear. The cup was not deserved by him, yet he chose it so his people might pass over safely. The words “not my will, but yours” are not calm religious language; they are the agonizing turning point of history. [49:03]
4. Peace can come strangely God’s way does not promise an easy road or a trouble-free life. God’s peace can arrive inside hard, confusing, and painful situations where understanding cannot explain it. Obedience may still feel costly, but God’s presence makes that cost different from mere suffering.

## [51:32]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[36:14] - God’s Will, God’s Way
[37:35] - Lego and Going Own Way
[39:22] - The World Without God’s Will
[41:41] - Sin in Cities, Families, and Hearts
[42:34] - Eden and “My Will, My Way”
[43:49] - Jesus in Another Garden
[45:07] - The Cup Before Christ
[46:38] - Heaven and Earth Align
[47:33] - The Cross, Resurrection, and Forgiveness
[49:38] - Keeping in Step With the Spirit
[50:54] - Peace for Those Who Love God’s Law
[52:14] - Daily Submission to God’s Will

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 6:10
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” [36:16]

Luke 22:42
“saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’” [45:13]

Psalm 119:165
“Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” [51:01]

Galatians 5:25
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” [49:57]

Observation questions

In Matthew 6:10, what is being asked for when the words say, “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”?
What picture helps show what happens when someone gets bored with the maker’s instructions and decides to go their own way? [38:47]
What examples show how sin appears not only in world history but also in cities, families, marriages, and personal life? [41:41]
In Luke 22:42, what two desires are heard in Jesus’ prayer, and what does he finally choose? [47:23]

Interpretation questions

If life works better when people trust God’s will because God is God and human beings are not, what does that say about the real problem underneath “my will, my way”? [36:29]
Adam and Eve were in one garden, and Jesus prayed in another garden. How do those two gardens help explain both the entrance of sin and the beginning of its defeat? [43:49]
Jesus says, “not my will, but yours, be done.” Why is that more than an example of courage? What does it show about how sin would be dealt with? [49:03]
Psalm 119:165 speaks of great peace for those who love God’s law. How can that be true even when obedience leads through hard or confusing circumstances? [51:32]

Application questions

Where is “my will, my way” most tempting right now—in decisions, relationships, habits, ambitions, or private thought life? What might submission to God look like in that exact place? [52:14]
Many people can see sin in the world but are slower to see it in themselves. Where is there a need to stop comparing with others and honestly admit, “I do not even live up to my own standards”? [42:12]
Jesus chose the cup he did not deserve so that those who trust in him might pass over safely. Is trust in Christ resting at the center of life, or has it become assumed, distant, or unclear? What would it look like to come to him again in a real and personal way? [48:01]
“Keep in step with the Spirit” is simple to say but hard to live. What helps a person actually keep in step with the Spirit during an ordinary week, and what usually pulls that person out of step? [50:23]
Confessing sin is part of walking in God’s way. Is there any sin that needs to be named plainly before God rather than explained away, minimized, or hidden? [50:45]
God’s peace can come in strange and painful places. When has peace from God been experienced in a situation that did not become easy right away? How might that memory help with present difficulties? [51:34]
If obedience to God brings peace, joy, and the promise of his presence, what is one concrete step of obedience to take in the next few days? [52:37]

Sermon Clips

72s

#ChristPaidItAll

“``As I said, humanly, who would not wish to avoid taking the sins of the world? But he was sinless himself, he and his father and the spirit align perfectly. He says, not will, yours. And there, history changes. He is crucified the next day, a horrific death, and the sins of the world bore down on him, and he was separated from his father. But just as he just told his disciples three days later, hallelujah, he rose from the dead. The debt was paid, the sins were wiped out for anybody who puts their trust in him.”

66s

#HeavenEarthAligned

“And the outcome, because in heaven, God's will is always perfect and God's will is always done. As I've explained on earth, it has seldom happened over thousands of years of bloodshed and horror, and yet at this moment, heaven and earth align in the person of Christ. As I said, humanly, who would not wish to avoid taking the sins of the world? But he was sinless himself, he and his father and the spirit align perfectly. He says, not will, yours. And there, history changes.”

61s

#TrustInChrist

“He is crucified the next day, a horrific death, and the sins of the world bore down on him, and he was separated from his father. But just as he just told his disciples three days later, hallelujah, he rose from the dead. The debt was paid, the sins were wiped out for anybody who puts their trust in him. And scripture says he wants you to put your trust. He he commands you to put your trust Christ, to have your sins forgiven. Please do that this morning if that thought has not occurred to you throughout your life.”

53s

#PeaceThatTranscends

“When God's will, God's way is our way, there is often peace. It's not always easy, I'll be honest. So you might say, well, I don't know. I don't think it is peaceful following God, Paul. But the word also says that God's peace transcends understanding. And I think we all know that God's peace can visit us in some very strange, hard, difficult situations. So although God's way is peaceful. It can be challenging, but he says that he will be there with you in it.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Bradley Stoke Evangelical Church This sermon · AI assistant

Why does human will lead to widespread sin?

How did Jesus' obedience resolve humanity's sin?

How can believers keep in step with Spirit?