Let us read from Mathew 26:39, “And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”” In verse 42 we read, “He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”” Verse 44 we read as, “And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.” We can see Jesus life as one that is fully dependent on God and always seeks the father’s will. In verse 33-35 we read, “But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too. Peter was confident in himself. He was so sure that he wouldn’t deny Jesus. But we see Jesus, who went to God when He was going to go through a trial. Jesus also took with Him Peter and the sons of Zebedee. Jesus wanted to have fellowship with his disciples and wanted to pray with them. The prayers of our brothers can give us strength.
Jesus knew that He had to go to the cross and that fellowship with the Father would be broken. He didn’t want that to happen at all, but was ready to submit Himself to the will of the Father. We read that Jesus prayed 3 times. Jesus allowed His will to be broken in order to allow God’s will in His life. In our lives too we will be faced with this temptation of allowing our will to be done. What will we choose? Our will or God’s will? Jesus finally understood that this hard cup was something God wanted Him to go through. In Luke 22:43,44 we read, “Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” This was how much Jesus was burdened, but God sent an angel to strengthen Him. We also face temptations and our flesh maybe weak, but God will send His angels to strengthen us if we cry out to Him. Let us experience that power today. Our flesh is prone to sin, but if we cry out to the Lord fervently, the image of Jesus can be stamped in us.
In the time of temptation we see what Jesus did. He wanted to pray and have fellowship with the Father. Whatever happens, whatever situation we go through, take it to the Lord in prayer. Every situation maybe against us, but God can change it. There are many promises in the Bible, let us claim them and make them ours. In 2 Corinthians 4:-10 we read, “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” We may be afflicted in every ways, but we will always carry in our body the dying of Jesus. We have to pray that same prayer that Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” Let us pray, and pray fervently. In 2 Corinthians 4:16 we read, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” Take this verse to be a reality in your lives today. God will give us a spirit of encouragement. Compared to the eternal glory that God is preparing through our afflictions, these sufferings are only momentary. In our inner man God is transforming us day by day through our sufferings.
In Hebrews 12:6 “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives. It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” If we are not being disciplined by the Father, we are not His sons. Each day when we are disciplined, let us accept the disciple and not go weary. Our earthly parents have disciplined us for our good and we respect them; how much more, our Father in heaven. When God disciplines us, He does it so that we can be partakers of His holiness. All discipline is sorrowful, but it will yield a peaceful fruit of righteousness. In John 15:2 we read, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” This is the purpose of discipline in our lives. In Revelation 3:19 we read, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” God doesn’t approve a lukewarm attitude. He wants us to be rich in Him. If you have heard the word of the Lord, repent from the lukewarm attitudes. We go through trials and God wants us to be overcomers.
In Hebrews 5:7 we read, “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.” We can follow the example of Jesus when we go through trials. As the angels came to strengthen Jesus, we can also be strengthened. Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered. Even Jesus went through the path of learning obedience, how much more; we. Are we able to learn from Jesus in the situations that we are going through?
Our Father will help us. If we seek to have fellowship with the Father through our sufferings, He will send us strength. We see that Jesus sought the fellowship of his disciples in His hard times, but the disciples fell asleep. There is strength in the fellowship and prayer of our brothers when we go through trials. We also see that Jesus strived not to sin for even a moment. He wanted to fellowship with the Father and do His will. If we have this attitude; as the angels came and strengthened Jesus, He will help us too. May God bless us all!
