During a major storm in my life, I had to encourage myself. I took the time to write out my thoughts and recently shared them with a dear friend. She said I should share it. Here goes:
Matthew 26:36-44 through Matthew 28 entirely
It is said that after Passover, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane where he prayed to the Father fervently, feverishly, and desperately. He knew of what was to come and to put it simply, did not desire it. He did not desire it. So much so that he prayed to the Father three times. He begged that the cup pass from him. Of course each time he also yielded to the will of God over and above his own. This in spite of how grieved he was over what was yet to come. And of course, God’s will was in fact done and Jesus was required to drink from that undesirable, bitter, sorrowful cup filled with pain, anguish, abuse, lies, torture, torment, hate, evil, jealousy, sins of all sorts….even death.
Have you been there? I have. If you haven’t, at some point you will. Made to face and deal with something so undesirable, painful, and bitter that all you can do is cry out and ask Why Me? All you can do is just….cry. The world that we live in is filled with circumstances and situations brought to us through various channels. Through our children, co-workers, family members, spouses, the family members of our spouses, even strangers who mean us no good.
I submit to you that something great comes from drinking of the cup that we’d prefer to pass on. What glorious wonders came after Jesus drank from that bitter cup!!! The gift of Salvation! The gift of Eternal Life! The Holy Ghost to guide and comfort us until Jesus returns! Forgiveness of our sins! Greatness was the end result of such a great sacrifice and is it a sacrifice to accept the cup and not let it pass? Absolutely and Indeed!
Whatever you’re going through, as you pray to the Father to deliver you from it, remove it, fix it, etc – consider yielding to His will to confirm that this cup, is yours to drink from. And if it is, face it, accept it, and drink from it. I submit to you that it’s perfectly normal and okay to pray fervently and feverishly for this cup to pass. If Jesus felt so desperately sorrowful and inclined, surely God will understand if we do too. But we still have to recognize that after all of the praying, He knows what’s best and has a plan for the final outcome. We have to trust Him enough to declare not my will but thy will be done. When we make this declaration, we must do so knowing that Glorious Wonders and Greatness soon follow.
I ask you to think on this: If Jesus had not drunk from the cup, where would you be? If your parents hadn’t made certain sacrifices, where would you be? What sacrifices have you made for your children or loved ones? What was the end result? Where would they be if not for your choice to drink from the cup and walk the path set before you? I urge you once again to accept the will of God but if you need me to pray with you for strength and courage I will. If you understand the power of His gift that day and want to accept it – Salvation and Eternal Life – Come….drink.
These are Just My Thoughts~
(c)Leneiva Head 2011 – All Rights Reserved
Deep. Thank you for sharing.