Holy Week Devotional - Thursday

Matthew 26:36-46 – “36 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.  38Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  39Going 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!””

Jesus went to the garden in Gethsemane, knowing what was going to happen to Him.  Clearly the thought of being crucified is distressing.  As someone once said, “I don’t fear death.  I do fear dying, however.”  Jesus was pleased to die for our sins.  But He was also realistic about the pain and suffering He was about to endure.  So as He was praying to the Father, He was expressing His distress.  Sweating blood (see Luke 22:44) was a sign of incredible stress.  I can only imagine what He was going through.

Notice that Jesus was stressed about dying and expressed that to the Father, but at the end of the day, He submitted to the Father’s will. 

What difficulties are you going through?  What is causing you stress? 

How do you respond to stress?  Do you talk openly to God about it?  Or do you keep your stresses to yourself? 

And then, after you’ve talked to God about it, are you willing to submit to His will, even if His will is difficult?  It’s hard to imagine going through anything like what Jesus did.  But the hard things in our own lives are still hard.  We don’t want to minimize them. 

One thing to note from this is that Jesus brought His disciples along for support.  But they failed Him.  When you’re going through something really hard, who can you turn to?  Who are the people you can count on for support and encouragement? 

Today, think about the issues in your life that are hard.  Who are you turning to?  Who is your support team?  Find those people.