The night was dark and full of silence.
So much so that if someone had been paying close attention as they walked near Mount Olivet, they would have heard a deepened voice of anguish and emotion. Just above the sound of chirping crickets and the rustling leaves of the trees, as the evening wind blew pleasantly, was the voice of Jesus Christ in His chosen place of solitude.
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from Me. Yet not My will, but Your will, be done.”
At this moment…when His prayers were muted temporarily…if one had been close enough to see Jesus…then next they would have seen an angel kneeling next to Him. I can’t help but wonder what that picture in history looked like. I can only imagine that the finest painter in the world couldn’t accurately create the depth of the moment an angel appeared before Jesus to offer Him support. Nor accurately paint the sweat that began to pour from Jesus’s body, like drops of blood, as He continued on with His prayers; even more intensely than He was praying before.
We can’t even begin to imagine the weight of painful anticipation Jesus was feeling in that moment. He knew what was coming. The pain, suffering, and humiliation, He was going to have to endure to save the world…even death on a cross. Yet, even knowing all this tribulation was soon to envelop Him and bring validity to the prophecies of old...He did not run. He did not hide. Instead, He trusted God and continued to yield His will to God. And in that place of solitude and anguish Jesus approached God as His Son…calling Him “Father”. In obedience. In trust. And in faith.
Though it will never compare to what Jesus was facing that night, we all face and experience adversity and hardships in our lives. Sometimes we bring these things on ourselves and other times we’re victims of circumstances beyond our control and comprehension. As human beings, we have limited understanding, and sometimes trying to figure out God’s Will is a maddening task. Especially when the hard times come.
Something to keep in mind during life’s difficult seasons is to remember Jesus’s response in Luke chapter 22. Jesus knew of the pain and agony He was fated to endure, but He also knew that God’s Will must be done. Like Him, we all will face trials that shake us to our core. Troubles that redefine the word “fear” in our vocabulary and bring out the trembling resonance of our souls. But like Christ we, too, must seek God’s Will, and not our own.
No matter what you’re facing in life right now, or will face in the future…true peace…God’s peace…can be claimed by us all when we accept the things we can’t change (namely the past) and trust that He has our best in mind for today and the future ahead.
We may not understand all the trials and tribulations we face in life while they’re happening, but someday we will.
Until then, and as hard as it may be to believe…it’s worth the pain.
So hold on brothers and sisters, and keep the faith. I promise it will be worth it all.
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