Matthew 26: 38,39,40  Then He said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep watch with me.”  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.”  He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Humanly speaking we could look at this and assume that Jesus was talking about being beaten and hung on the cross because well, let’s face it, that would be a horrific way to die.  But to Jesus, it was so much more than that:

The Bible tells us in John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”   Jesus had always been with the Father, He is “the Word”.  God The Father, God the Son (Jesus), and The Holy Spirit have always been, and they have always been together.  Jesus was facing separation from the Father and for the first time ever He would face God the Father not being able to even look at Him as our sins were all placed on Him.  Even though He knew it wouldn’t be forever the thought of being separated was overwhelming.  The thought of wearing our sin and shame, because He had never felt that because He had never sinned… I can’t even imagine.

God loves you that much!  Jesus loves you that much!  That kind of love for us ought to make us long to do what is right and to please Him.  It ought to drive us to trust Him because He was willing to go through all of that for us.  His mercy, and grace, and patience with us are remarkable and should fill us with the desire to honor Him with our lives.  

Can you see it?  He loves you and cares about every detail of your life!  He is your source of hope and strength for everything you do in life!  He is still the God of Miracles and if you have accepted Him as your Savior then that same Spirit that never sinned lives in you and He wants to guide you and strengthen you to become all He created you to be.  Remember, Jesus had a part in creating you with the Father, and then He was willing to die in your place so you can be with Him forever, and then He gave you His Spirit within you so you can walk in confidence and strength so you can get through those storms in life, and you can lead others on that mountain top, and you can trust Him in everything knowing that truly His best is yet to come for you!  Imagine that!

I would encourage you to give Him everything.  Don’t hold any area of your life back.  Ask Him to guide you into becoming all He created you to be.  Let go of your agenda and trust Him and His plan for your life.  (Jeremiah 29:11-13). Spend time praising Him and in prayer today.  Don’t miss out on that alone time with Him, there’s nothing that could possibly be more important!

Quote:  “If what you believe doesn’t affect how you live, then it isn’t very important.”  ~ Dick Nogleberg