Friday Bible study has been an enjoyable time here in Hungary. One of the weekly items has been to share a story on a favorite hymn we sing. This evening, we will be looking at the hymn "Have Thune Own Way, Lord" and I wanted to share it here on the blog.
The author of the well-known hymn was Adelaide Pollard (born in Iowa and lived from 1862-1934). She was depressed and thought that God had deserted her. She had a great burden for the country of Africa and she believed that she should go there as a missionary, but now as she was preparing to sail, it was evident that the funds she needed could not be raised.
In her state of discouragement, she attended a little prayer meeting one night. There an elderly woman began to pray. The elderly woman did not ask for blessings or material things. She simply prayed, "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord, just have your own way with our lives."
Upon returning home that evening, Miss Pollard mediated on the story of the potter, found in Jeremiah 18:3-4. It says, “Then I went to the potter’s house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”
As she read, she believed the story was her own. "Perhaps", she said, "my questioning of God's will shows a flaw in life, so God has decided to break me, as the potter broke the defective vessel, and then to mold my life again in His own pattern."
That very evening in 1902, she wrote all four stanzas of this hymn as it is sung today.
Adelaide Pollard finally did minister for God in Africa for a brief period before World War I.
There are many times in life we don't understand what is going on, but what a great reminder it is to trust the One who does and to pray, "Lord, have thine own way."
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