阿德莱德·波拉德（Adelaide A. Pollard）. Explore “Have Thine Own Way, Lord”: song information and official sources.
Confession and repentance · Surrender and dedication
Later biographical tradition says that Pollard wrote this hymn after plans to go to Africa as a missionary failed for lack of funds. At a prayer meeting she supposedly heard an older woman ask God to deal with them according to his own will. No contemporary record confirms that account, so receive it as a story. The poem's imagery comes from Jeremiah 18 and its potter and clay. Context matters: the potter remakes a spoiled vessel, and verses 7–10 immediately explain that if a nation turns from evil, God will relent. The image therefore concerns a purposeful reshaper who hears people's turning, rather than resignation to fate. Be careful when singing it after plans fail, when it can become a forced acceptance. It is better sung after the heart has grown quiet, as an honest entrusting rather than a statement made by suppressing feelings.
Retreats, spiritual renewal and prayer before major personal decisions; teaching on the potter and clay.