Matthew 26:36-39
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them,“Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedeealong with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus was in great anguish over His approaching physical pain, separation from the Father, and death for the sins of the world. The divine course was set, but He, in His human nature, still struggled. Because of the anguish Jesus experienced, He can relate to our suffering. Jesus' strength to obey came from His relationship with God the Father, who is also the source of our strength. (Life Application Bible:NIV)
When I was reading this scripture this morning, I felt Jesus' fear and pain. To think what He was about to endure is horrific to me. It is like us being asked if we want to know the how and when we are going to die. Who truly would want to know? Now imagine knowing and your day of death was quickly approaching, now can you feel what Jesus was feeling. My stomach dips just at the thought. He knew why He had to but He still asked the Father if there was another way. The point is it is okay that we get scared and question our Lord. It is in fact quite natural to do so but the difference is when we place our faith and trust in the Lord, His love for us strengthens us and we learn to desire the desires of God and not our own. Our obedience in the Lord unlocks His power in our lives and our lives change. So we know even through the most difficult situations, God's will for our lives must be done for it is far greater than anything we could ever accomplish on our own. And through the anguish, like Jesus, we are to simply trust and cast our fears on to the Father (Psalm 55:22). Jesus knows your heart, your fears, your anxiety over a certain situation, He knows you may not want to do what He is asking of you to do but you must trust beyond reason. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and NOT lean on our own understanding. And we can for Jesus knows. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment