Do you ever wake up, dreading the day before you even get out of bed, knowing that you have something hard ahead of you? I confess that I dread a lot of things: a speaking engagement, a dentist appointment, a long day of travel on an airplane, and a full day of commitments, to name a few. I think about taking a “sick” day or coming up with some reason to stay home, but then I think of the benefits of following through with the thing I dread, and it helps!
I can imagine Jesus awakening, perhaps from even a short night’s sleep, knowing that the day ahead of him which led up to the Garden of Gethsemane would be difficult. Jesus dreaded having to go to the cross. He was soul-sick to the point of “sweating bullets” as he prayed for the strength to go through with the plan to redeem mankind. Talk about a great reason not to back out: he would be saving humanity from something they would eventually dread…death.
Matthew and Mark’s accounts of this “hour” in Jesus’ life (Matthew 26:38; Mark 14:34) use the words “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” to describe Jesus’ troubled soul. We are told that he longed for the comfort of his disciples standing with him in prayer during this time, but we know they had a hard time staying awake.
All alone, I can hear Jesus reminding himself (and us) why he had to go through with this execution, even though he was innocent! His reasoning was that everything he had done in his three years of ministry had really led up to the hour of his crucifixion.
Even though Jesus was innocent of the charges made against him, there would be no last minute reprieve for Jesus as he waited on “death row.” He wasn’t asking for a reprieve, though, because it was for this very reason that he had come into the world, to die on a cross for all of the world to see his suffering and experience redemption!
Now we no longer need to dread or fear dying. Yes, our souls will experience the “troubling” thoughts about leaving loved ones behind, and the potential pain we may go through as our bodies give up our spirits, but this is part of God’s loving plan for us.
Jesus, thank you for setting an example for me in pushing through difficulty for a good reason! Help me deal with feeling overwhelmed today. Amen.
For Today: what are you dreading? Do you have a troubled soul? Jesus knows what that is like, so bring this to him in this prayer: