Thy Will Be Done
Greetings and good morning, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we seek to understand the meaning of ““Thy will be done.””
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Thy Will Be Done
"And he went a litter farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me: Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”” Matthew, Chapter 26, Verse
39
Brothers and Sisters, in today’’s broadcast, we share with you the story of a truth seeker, Josephus
Lightner, known to his friends as Jo-Lite for short. Jo-Lite story begins when he asked the question:
"Is this all there is to life?" Now it took many years, and devious and sundry routes for Jo-Lite to
finally reach that destination where it was even possible for him to consider asking such a question.
For years this question has banged on the door of his consciousness before finally gaining entrance
into that arena where great debates are resolved. And the question having appeared on the stage of
his mind, it was impossible to sweep it away as it were. It was like the tale of the Greek myth when
one of the characters rolled a golden apple into the hall for the most beautiful woman reclining in
there. Pandemonium broke out right away.
It is significant that this question elbowed its way on to the stage of his mind at a time in his life
when the stage was already crowded with a multitudes of other issues, and they were all vying for
his attention with a terrible urgency. The question demanded solution, but no solution could be
found. Jo-Li has reached that position upon the mountain of life where youth had lost its footing and
fell to its death below. He was also besieged with the health issues that remains after youth leaves.
These material handicaps to his body functioning optimally made the material aspects of his life
difficult and cumbersome. For no matter what he did, he had to reckon with their effects upon his
actions. And if this were not enough, the stage of his mind was also colored with a deep blue tinge
of emotional difficulties. This factors conspired to make him wish for another life, a life that was free
of misery and suffering.
Philosophically we might wonder at the timing of this question of supreme importance. But life has
shown that such questions can find no space to stand until paradoxically the stage of mind is filled.
It is only during the realization that the pain and suffering of this life is likely to endure that life cries
out, "Why? It is only when the emotions can find no haven of satisfaction. It is only when the ill
wind of discomfort stirs the emotions and blow them about the stage of life the way the wind blows
the leaves off the trees during Autumn that life looks for stability somewhere else.
It has been said that when your god dies, you die, and just now his god of this life had died, leaving
him to his own devices. The god of materialism is a false god that can only leave its devotees short.
He had discovered painfully so that life is more than just the satisfaction of the sum of material
desires and urges. From personal experience, he knows this and thus the question: "Is this all there
is to life?" His feeling about the matter may be summarized this way as related to him by a hapless
fellow who said, "When a man reaches a certain place in life, having a desire to be intimate with a
woman is like a dog chasing a car. What in the world will he do with it when he catches it." Though
he had felt that it was more like a chicken chasing a fox.
Is there a God that exists who does not die, who is eternal, and if so how do I find Him? Is there a
God who gives satisfaction to that part of me that lies too deep for the waters of material satisfaction
to reach? Is there any significant meaning and value to all of this pain and suffering? And why was
I born just to get old and die? And on and on the questions were poised to his inner self. Many times
before he had had a sort of dialogue with himself, as he tried to solve the material problems of his
existence, but now this was something different. He has entered into a dialogue with the deepest part
of himself, and felt uncertain and uneasy about the possibility of receiving any sort of viable answer.
In the past when he had had these dialogues with his material self, the realization of his experience
justified and validated these conversations with himself. But just now he was in an quandary with
no experience to guide, direct, and validate his experience.
In reflecting back upon his past life, he realized that a certain amount of faith was used in his pursuit
of material goals as the satisfaction of life. But now a different kind of faith was needed——one that
was concerned with origins, destiny, meanings, and values. How would he acquire this faith that was
to serve as a searchlight of truth as he explored new terrain of a different sort, for no doubt about it,
this new terrain was spiritual, something that he had not paid much attention. Faced with these
unanswerable questions, he had no choice but see if he could find this spiritual faith, and then see
if he could use it. He also realized that even though qualitatively different, experience would be the
validator of the success of his search.
For some, like himself, the discovery and recognition of the soul is a very traumatic experience. But
he was beginning to realize that it was the soul that forced this question upon the mental stage. But
whence came the power of the soul to do this? What force was energizing and motiving it at such
a critical time in his life? And despite the previous arguments about timing, he still felt that the
question should have been more conveniently asked during a more tranquil period of his life. For
him to understand the emerging question, he would need a greater understanding of the nature and
function of the soul, which at this time he lacked. (But I add this analogy to the record for
consideration and edification: A golden ripe banana is a beautiful fruit to behold, but in order to
enjoy the essence of the banana, the golden peel must be removed.)
The soul grows in the midst of the material mind, and as the material mind winds down along with
the material body, the soul winds up. It is designed to live on after material death intervenes. It is this
soul that seeks eternal values and meanings. It is the unease imparted to the mind of the materialist,
an unease designed to make it take note that there is more to life than just the sum of material urges
and desires. This soul craves to worship, to know its creator. This soul functions quite well,
irrespective of the material state of the body and mind. All that is required is to have a mind of moral
status. It is concerned with quality, and thus material handicaps being a thing of quantity have no
bearing on its functions except to highlight the reality of that functioning. It is an astonishing thing
to see a materially handicapped person displaying the spirit.
Jo-Lite sought the answer to his questions of meaning and existence, and he received the answers.
For the law of the spiritual universe is: Ask and you shall receive. The very instant he sought these
answers, these meanings and values, his soul became flooded with these values and meanings, which
spilled over into his mind. He became possessed of this unquenchable thirst to love unselfishly. The
more he sought the answers, the more the qualities of the Divine infiltrated his soul. His material
mind was a little slow in grasping that the reality of these values and meanings infiltrating his soul
and mind were the answer to his questions. The material afflictions and emotional difficulties
became powerful incentives to propel him forward in his quest for divine perfection. Having become
thoroughly convinced of the futility of material goals to provide him tranquility of spirit, and
satisfaction of soul, the presence of these material difficulties only increased his desire for divine
perfection. They reminded him to: "Build your hopes on things eternal and to hold unto God’’s
unchanging hand."
As time continued, Jo-Lite became so infused with divine love that it spiritually oozed from him. It
was like somebody with muddy shoes tracking through a clean room. His life became a poem of
worship and divine communion. He became one with the great God, the eternal One, and he knew
it. He had found the satisfaction of satisfaction. And he knew beyond any doubt that no material or
emotional difficulties could interfere with this relationship. No matter how difficult his pain and
suffering or his emotional turmoil, they were powerless to derail him from the tracks of divine
mercy. His attachment and unification with the Father was based solely upon his spiritual desire for
the same. Other factors--being of a material nature--had no bearing whatsoever on this amazing gift
of mercy except that it amazed those who were so fortunate to observe such spiritual light under such
difficult material circumstances. Yes indeed! Thy will be done forever and ever, throughout all
eternity.
This concludes today's message on understanding the meaning of ““thy will be done.”” We hope you
find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
Thy Will Be Done
