Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven… – Matthew 6:9-13

Your Will is an interesting thing. Actually, it is much more than interesting. Your Will, whether you realized it or not, is the primary driver of your life.

Jesus was aware when he asked the cripple at the Bethesda pool a simple question, “Do you want to get well?” Unfortunately, the cripple had been in his current circumstances so long he had forgotten what he really wanted and thus suppressed his Will. He completely ignored Jesus’ question and went into a dissertation on why he couldn’t get to the well to be healed.

Jesus approached the same question from a different direction when he spoke with the blind man in Mark 10. When the blind man approached him, Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”

As people created in the image of God, our will is a very powerful thing because God’s Will is.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” – Revelation 4:11

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. – John 1:1-3

Jesus created everything by and through his Will. Jesus taught his disciples and us to pray that the Father’s Will would be done here on earth as it is in heaven because his Will makes things happen. And, whether we admit it or not. Whether we like it or not. Our Will also makes things happen.

Within the limited domain of the small kingdom that is your life, you also make things happen by and through your Will. This is what Blaise Pascal called, “the dignity of causality.” Every person is invested with this capability as part of being “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).

But the thing is, if we really think about it, our Will scares us. We don’t like that we have that much power and control. And, we mostly try to shy away from the responsibility. Like the Cripple at Bethesda, we need to be reminded. Or, like the Blind Man along the road, we need to be prodded. Because it is not often that we consciously engage our Will.

However, subconsciously your Will is constantly engaged. From the moment you wake up until you fall asleep, your Will is actively present and engaged. From the routine to the impactful, you use your Will moment by moment, day in and day out. From choosing the clothes you wear or the food you eat to the choice to be kind or not when offended or whether or not to lean into your addiction of choice whether it be alcohol or drugs, ice cream or sports, pornography or a double bacon cheeseburger and fries.

Unfortunately, most of the time, we just don’t give our Will much thought. Usually our Will runs on autopilot. Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbs, put it this way.

“I'm killing time while I wait for life to shower me with meaning and happiness.”

There’s the problem. For the most part, we are coasters. We live each day, not on purpose, but on accident. Not as Kings and Queens of a kingdom but as slaves to the temptations of the world and our own ease and comfort.

Now I will admit that the vast majority of decisions we make each day are relatively benign. But when was the last time you spent hours upon hours playing video games? Scrolling through Instagram reels? Masturbating to pornography? Got lost in the bar down the street or a six pack in your refrigerator? And just because your particular addiction is not explicitly mentioned doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.

You know what your addiction of choice is. Whatever you go to for comfort, peace, or support, other than God, when you are hurt, weary or bored. Some of our addictions are “big ones” but there are a multitude of “little choices” we make, apart from God, that kill our heart – the Springs of Life (Proverbs 4:23).

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

Over the course of my life I have exercised my Will millions, perhaps billions of times and I have chosen both well and poorly. I have chosen Jesus and I have not. Unfortunately, too many times, I have gone to other “comforters” rather than Jesus.

To “come to him” we must consciously exercise our Will. You must decide and choose to do it. It is as simple and as hard as that.

The only question really is “Will you?”