WHEN FACING YOUR GETHSEMANE MOMENT
SCRIPTURE:
“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 Zebedee along 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.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 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.” 43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” (Matthew 26:36—46)
OBSERVATION:
Jesus, accompanied by his disciples, journeyed to Gethsemane. This garden in Jerusalem was not just a physical location but a place where he felt the weight of what was about to happen to him. It was a place where he began to be sorrowful and troubled, a place where Jesus battled with the reality of the cross ahead and his imminent death for our sins. His emotional struggle was profound and should evoke a deep sense of compassion and understanding in us.
Jesus was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. His disciples were oblivious to what he was going through. Jesus needed them to pray and stay watch with him. However, his disciples weren’t able to keep watch with him, not even for an hour. Jesus, in his wisdom, emphasized the importance of staying in prayer and being watchful, underlining the urgency and significance of these actions. But the disciples keep sleeping and resting.
Jesus said to his disciples these words, which I believe are for every believer when we face a moment of struggle and difficulties: “WATCH AND PRAY SO YOU WILL NOT FALL INTO TEMPTATION. THE SPIRIT IS WILLING, BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK.”
The significance of Jesus’ words to the disciples reminds me that we will all face our garden of Gethsemane, where we will struggle with the temptation to OBEDIENCE to the will of God or surrender to the pull of our flesh. It is a battle of a WILLING SPIRIT, but often, it suffers from the temptation of the flesh. Jesus face this test in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed to his Father, “ “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” Temptation to quit is real. Temptation to run from a critical moments is real. Temptation to do our own will or submit to God’s will is real. We will all be tempted. How are you handling your temptation?
Jesus prayed the same prayer three times. He was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. He obviously struggled with God’s will for the cross and death. Our greatest test is not so much the circumstances that we face but whether we will submit to God in obedience or pull to our weak flesh. The struggle was real, and Jesus kept going to the Father so that his will would be strengthened against giving up. But even when we pray, there is no guarantee that God will bail us out of the danger or the difficulties that we face.
However, in the WILL of God is all the strength, the power, and the assurance that we need when we are allowed to go through whatever we are facing. I am reminded of the Apostle Paul who prayed to God to remove his thorn in the flesh. Paul said, I prayed three times for God to remove the thorn, but the answer he got was, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU. God will NOT necessarily answer our prayers the way we often expect him to. He will answer prayers that are aligned with his will.
APPLICATION:
I want to always do his will. I know I will face my Gethsemane moment many more times. My prayer is that I would be like Jesus and Paul, that when I pray, I must trust all my circumstances and surrender them all in obedience to Jesus no matter the case may be. I will trust all my problems and things that overwhelmed me to Jesus daily.
PRAYER:
Father, I come to you and resubmit myself afresh today to your will. Please help me to trust you no matter what the case maybe. I ask that you continue to lead me and guide me. Please create in my a heart that obeys your word. I want to be a child like my Lord Jesus who submits to your will no matter what the case maybe, even in the face of death. I trust in you. Amen!
