Not My Will… (March 29, 2023)
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me;
nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Before His unjustified arrest and
brutal crucifixion, Jesus—knowing the extreme suffering that He was about to
endure for mankind’s salvation—retreated to the Mount of Olives to take His
anguish to His Father in heaven through prayer. While His disciples slumbered
nearby in the Garden of Gethsemane, our LORD,
showing His humanity,
sweat great drops of blood as He pleaded with the Father to
make another way if possible. In absolute obedience, however, Christ surrendered
His will to that of the heavenly Father and willingly completed the mission for
which the Son of God had been sent to earth—to enter humanity as the sinless
suffering servant required for the redemption of our sins.
“But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s
sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with
exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:13)
Many of us have a very low threshold
for physical and emotional pain, but occasional suffering is a reality we all
must face in a world under demonic influence. As Christians living in a wicked culture
that is turning away from God and rejecting the absolute truth of His Word, we
are bound to face growing ridicule and persecution. We have been relatively
fortunate in America, but eventually, we may be subjected to threats of imprisonment
and death because of our faith like many fellow believers around the world. We
must do God’s will regardless of the temporal affliction that it may bring. As
suffering saints, we can be joyful in tribulation, knowing that, being partakers
of Christ’s sufferings, we will ultimately share in the glory of our risen LORD!
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