Not My Will but Your Will!
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” 37 He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. 38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Too often we are discouraged when we are burdened with discomfort, grief, or tribulation to the point of anguish like Jesus was in this text. However, we must model ourselves after Christ by implementing the following examples into our daily lives:
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Get alone &Go to the Throne: When feeling grieved Christ did not go looking for a friend to throw a pity party with and do the whole “Woe is me act”! Instead, Jesus got by himself and fell on His face in prayer.
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Keep it 100 : While praying Jesus was honest about His feelings and got straight to the point! He didn’t give a long and fancied dissertation, nor did muster up a prayer about how he can’t take it anymore and how he didn’t do anything to deserve what he was about to face. He simply acknowledged his father and asked for what he wanted.
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Look beyond you: Even after Jesus asked for what he wanted, He still humbled himself to the will of God. Jesus realized that His purpose for being here on earth was for a greater cause. His suffering wasn’t pleasureful, but it was necessary in order for God’s plan to be fulfilled. Hence, his last statement in verse 39 “Nevertheless, I want your will to be done, not mine.”
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It’s become so natural that when going to God in prayer we stop at , “if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me”. Newsflash : IT’S POSSIBLE! But, who is willing to humble themselves like Christ and tell God Not my will Lord but, your will be done? Instead, we add on to our prayer of exemption from suffering by saying ” Lord you promised you wouldn’t put no more on me than I can bear, and Lord you and I both know that this here is just too much!” Then we proceed to tell God how tired we are and how much pain and discomfort we are in. and quote “Matthew 7:7” As if He needs to be reminded of what He said. Again I say, we need to model ourselves after Jesus as willing vessels and in the midst of our troubles fall on our faces, cry out to God with sincerity, and humble ourselves by looking beyond how our situations make Us feel, and focus on the fact that whatever we may be dealing with just might be for someone else’s help, someone else’s breakthrough, and someone else’s encouragement. Your situation just might draw someone else to salvation in Christ Jesus.
God knows what you can handle ( he doesn’t need you to tell him), and He knows that as mankind we typically never WANT to handle anything especially not to the point of anguish! Let’s practicing not being so selfish and close-minded thinking that everything is revolved around how it effects us; let’s humble ourselves and practice thinking about more than just ourselves and trust that God has a greater purpose and plan not just for our lives but for someone else’s as well.
Lastly let’s practice not just Saying to God ” I want your will to be done, not mine” but practice living it by looking beyond what we see ( trials, disappointments, burdens etc.,) and focusing on God and trusting that God has a GREATER purpose and plan for His people and although it may not feel good while its working but it’s working for our Good and for the Good of those that love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28) Trust God and Step Aside