Read: Matthew 26:38-39
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.”
In the last couple of years there was a series of commercials called, “He Gets Us”. You may have seen them. I have held on to those same three words when I have faced hardship. In our difficulty it sometimes feels as if we are the only ones going through it. We can feel desperation, isolation, or even think there isn’t anyone who understands what we are going through. But Jesus gets us. He himself knows what it feels like to suffer.
Knowing the day of His crucifixion was quickly approaching, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray to His Father. He understood what His destiny was but in the face of that moment He was overwhelmed and full of sorrow. He even asked God if there was another way. But He continued in His prayer, acknowledging He would accept God’s will. Jesus would bravely face His purpose, to die for the sins of the world – our sins. Imagine the pain God likely experienced, hearing His son’s prayers but knowing He would have to sacrifice Him for the people of the world – many of whom would deny Him. He surely felt suffering.
I cannot begin to understand what it would feel like to face what Jesus was facing but there have been times in my life when I have come to God in deep sorrow. Although there often wasn’t an immediate resolution to my suffering, I know He saw my tears and heard my prayers.
There can be hope in the midst of our trials. We are told in James 1:2-4 “My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance. And then as your endurance grows even stronger, it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.”.
Although we may feel like the suffering will never end, there will be a day when we will look back and know we made it through to the other side. And one day, all suffering will be gone. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and eliminate death entirely. No one will mourn or weep any longer. The pain of wounds will no longer exist, for the old order has ceased.” Revelation 21: 4.
