Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still. (“Have Thine Own Way, Lord” by Adelaide A. Pollard)
He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. (Luke 22:41–44 NLT)
The basement of Raymore Baptist Church in Raymore, Saskatchewan, was so overrun by mold due to repeated flooding that the church was forced to leave the building. Fortunately, another church in town offered Raymore Baptist the use of their building while they looked for other solutions. Meanwhile, a man and his daughter purchased the building, as well as land at an intersection in a more central part of town. They had a basement dug on the new land and moved the first floor of the old church across town to connect to the new basement. Their hope was to turn this old church into a thriving business. They attempted several ideas, including a dance hall, but nothing took off. All the while, the daughter began attending Raymore Baptist. She came to know Christ as her Savior and was baptized. As she became a part of the community, her and her father came to the decision to sell the old church building back to Raymore Baptist at less than the full value. This meant the church could once more hold services in their old building, but with the new building also came opportunities for ministry that they would not have otherwise known.
God took a church building that was unusable, plucked it out of a comfortable location, reformed and rebuilt what was broken, and brought the church body back to the building with pathways to new ministry right at their doorstep. When we trust that the Lord’s plan for our lives is the best plan possible, we are open to whatever He has for us. That doesn’t mean it will be easy; Raymore Baptist didn’t have an easy time after they were forced to vacate their building and find a new home. Even knowing the final result doesn’t always help in the present pain; Jesus was in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, despite knowing the end of the story, but He still placed His trust in the Father. Think about the areas of your life where you need to simply say to God, “Have thine own way!” What steps do you need to take to let go of your worries and allow God to take control?