City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

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.”

⁴⁰ Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, “Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

⁴² Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” ⁴³ When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

⁴⁴ So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

Matthew 26:36-46 (NLT)

Aisha’s Analysis

Today’s verses show us the beauty of surrendering your will to God’s greater purpose. Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane shows us the agony and mental anguish Christ endured in deciding to lay down His life and die a gruesome death on the cross. They also show us that we can surrender a desire on one level to fulfill a much greater desire on a deeper level. 

I think it’s important to realize that Jesus experienced humanity on every level (everything except the sin). It was probably not His natural desire to die on the cross. He wasn’t racing to the cross. He pondered it carefully through prayer. It was a thoughtful decision. He prayed three times for the cup to be taken away from Him, but was ultimately willing to surrender His will to His Father. 

Realignment is a key dynamic in prayer. There are going to be times (probably more than we’d like) that your desire is diametrically opposed to what God would have you do. Personally, when I pray, I never try to hide my true feelings about a matter. I’m very honest with God about how I feel and the way I would like things to play out if I had my way. But I fully realize it’s not about getting our way–it’s about glorifying our Father. When you realize bringing glory to God is your ultimate goal, you can endure anything. You can trust that God will not put you in a situation without also giving you the grace and strength to glorify Him in the process–whatever it is. Even if He leads you to a cross, He can be trusted. But you must be willing to let Him lead you. 

It takes strength and fortitude of soul to lay down your own will in support of God’s. Humanly speaking, it’s impossible without the Holy Spirit. He’s the One who empowers us to obey. As we reflect on Christ’s ultimate sacrifice this week, let us be encouraged that Jesus already passed the test. Let’s walk out the victory He’s already won for us! 

Application

Can you honestly say to God, “Not my will, but Yours be done” in every area of your life? It’s okay if you can’t at this point. Jesus had to pray three times to get His will in alignment with the Father’s, so how much more do we? If you don’t give yourself space to be human, you’re only fooling yourself. 

If there is something you genuinely don’t want to do, but feel like God is calling you to, then talk to Him about it. He won’t turn you away. Sit and pray with Him and be real with Him. Ask Him as many times as you’d like if the cup can be taken away. If the answer remains, you know what you have to do, but do it willingly as an act of love and trust toward your heavenly Father. Remember this, we’re not surrendering from a place of defeat. There’s victory in that surrender. 

Prayer

Precious Lord Jesus, thank You with all my heart for saying to the Father “Not my will, but Yours be done.” If you hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be here. Yet here I stand with full access to the Father because of Your willingness to obey God even to the point of death on a cross. Glory be to God! I am thankful and want to follow Your example. Lead me and I’ll follow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.