As You Wish

Recently the phrase, “As you wish,” has played in my thoughts. And I smile.

Some of you recognize these words from a particular screen play. I’m not an avid movie-goer and can count on my fingers the number of movies which I remember well. Were it not for the mother of my nieces and nephew, I doubt I would even know this story. But spending time with them one summer years ago, we watched her favorite movie. The Princess Bride.

My nieces and nephew are now married, with children of their own. But the phrase, As you wish, spoken by the hero of the story, stayed with me all these years.

For those new to the story, Wesley was a farm boy working for Buttercup’s family. Whenever Buttercup demanded Wesley care for the horse or fetch a pitcher, he simply said, “As you wish,” and performed her request.

There’s much more to the story, but this is the part that caught my attention. So why a post dedicated to this short phrase?

Whom We Serve

Last week I heard Eric Stakelbeck’s interview of the recently nominated US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Eric asked a question about actions Former Governor Huckabee might take while in Israel if confirmed. His answer grabbed my attention. In essence he said,

An ambassador serves at the pleasure of the President. Whatever his agenda is, I’ll do my best to follow his wishes.

In other words, As you wish.

As soon as I heard the former governor make his statement, I knew it applies to all those who belong to Christ. As children of the King, we’re His ambassadors on this earth. We represent the heavenly realm to the people of this world. We have no other responsibility, none, but to serve at the King’s pleasure.

This thought hit me with a huge sense of freedom. I don’t have to concern myself with anyone’s expectations except His! Not my family’s nor my friends. Not even my own. Every day I’m free to say, “As You wish,” and joyfully go about following His agenda.

Where We Serve

For some, God’s pleasure for you is to represent Him in your home. For others, it’s to represent Him in a hospital room or a board room. For all of us, it’s to serve Him by allowing His Spirit to flow through us.

Can I do that? Can I follow His desires and not my own? And why is this freeing when it means I can’t do my own thing?

First of all, we’ve been brought into the presence of the King by our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. He covers us with His righteousness, brings us before the Father, and we are made a part of the family of God by His love and sacrifice. We’re members of the heavenly Kingdom now. We just happen to be on mission here for a time.

There’s joy in recognizing Jesus made peace for us with the Father. And the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). So, yes! I can do whatever it is the King desires.

Secondly, I can follow His desires because He works in me in such a way that I will want what He wants.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV) says, Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

If I choose to delight myself in Jehovah, the God of the universe, my good and faithful Father, He will plant His wishes in my heart. He knows we humans will go after what we want. How wonderful that we can find ourselves wanting what pleases the King.

Knowing His Wish

It’s one thing for us to come to the Father through the Son. And according to Scripture, the Son Jesus is the only way we can approach the holy and just Creator of all (John 14:6). But once we’ve become a child of the King, it’s quite another thing for us to grow in our knowledge of God. To learn what He likes, what His wishes are.

Time with people allows us to know them and what they like. It’s no different with God. Time alone with the Father is something we need. For some this is easier than for others. If you’re a caregiver, time to yourself is rare. For working parents who spend hours each week on the job and then care for the family once home, time to yourself is scarce.

As ambassadors of the King, we desperately need time with Him to know His wish so we can serve at His pleasure. Perhaps a starting point is to tell Him we would love to spend time with Him. We can ask Him to make that a possibility. As He opens the door to time with Him, whether it’s five minutes or fifty, He will speak to our hearts.

Our Father knows exactly what our days hold. And He knows the enemy wants to keep us from Him. He knows how little strength we have and how much we need the power of His Spirit to enable us to do His will (Philippians 2:13). He’s with us daily, closer than our breath. Sit with Him and let His word sink deep into your soul. Or listen to Him speak via Christian radio* or podcasts** as you drive. Allow His words to permeate your being. Then you’ll know how to serve Him. One day at the time.

Final Thoughts

In John 5:30 (NKJV,) Jesus is recorded as saying,

I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

Jesus, our Savior and Lord, is our example. Just as He sought the will of the Father and only did what the Father wanted Him to do, so we are to do. Not by our own strength. But simply saying to our King, As You wish.

One day at a time, with our eyes on Jesus, let’s run the race set before us. We who know Jesus as Lord are ambassadors for the King. May He cover us with His peace, strengthen us with His joy, and remind us daily of the hope we have of eternity with Him.

(* My favorite Christian radio station is New Life FM; ** A Christian podcast I enjoy is Running to Win with Erwin Lutzer; Photo: Taken by Carolyn Thigpen, Encounter Cove Conference Center, Missouri, October 2024)