A Heart Turned Towards God

Wednesday night’s Bible study began to lay the path for us as we draw closer to Resurrection Sunday.  In all this uncertainty, it can be easy for us to take our eyes off the celebration of Jesus’ death, burial, and ultimate resurrection.  Pastor came from Luke 22:43-44 primarily.  Let’s set the scene.

Jesus has gone to the garden of Gethsemane for prayer, but He didn’t go alone.  He brought Peter, James, and John with Him.  He decides to go a little ways from them but advises them to pray so that they don’t fall into temptation.  Jesus kneels and begins to pray.

And this is not just any prayer.  It’s an earnest and revealing conversation with God the Father.  Jesus doesn’t fluff the prayer up with fancy words.  He goes straight to the point.  Calvary is looming, and He needs all the reassurance and strength that He can possibly obtain.  He says to God, “If it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

Jesus was sent to Earth on assignment.  His purpose was to redeem all of humanity.  He was birthed for this very reason, and yet He still turned to His Father for strength to complete His assignment.  He put all His emotions before God.  After praying this prayer, an angel appeared to Him from heaven and strengthened Him.  For some, that would be the time to get up and get to work.  But Jesus knew that major assignments require major time with God. 

So, Jesus prayed more earnestly.  He was so emotional that the Bible says that His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  Now, I’ve had some emotional moments.  I’ve had some very real down days.  I’ve had days when I allowed myself to get worked up about situations that I can’t control, but I haven’t been so emotional that I have sweat blood.  And even in a state like that, Jesus kept His focus on the Father.  He continued to seek God’s will for His life.  He realized that His life was not His own.

Oh, how I want to be like Jesus.  Not the sweating blood part.  I’m talking about His devotion and trust in our God.  Yes, I have real life issues and problems, but they pale in comparison to the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.  Even though God didn’t remove the cup from Jesus, He still answered.  Jesus was going to have to drink from the cup.  He had to complete His assignment.

You may wonder where Jesus’ three homeboys were during this fervent prayer session.  They were doing what all good friends do in times of adversity.  They were sleeping.  Just kidding about the good friend part but not joking about the sleeping.  In a time when Jesus really needed their support, Peter, James, and John were laying down on the job.  I can’t really fault them.  How many times have I failed others when they were in distress?  Forget others.  How many times have I fallen asleep on Jesus just like them?

The good news is that God was not asleep on Jesus.  He heard every murmured and fervent prayer that He prayed.  He equipped Him to walk in His purpose.  As we draw nearer to Resurrection Sunday, I’m convinced that God will continue to equip us to do the work that He created us to do.  Let’s keep our hearts turned towards Him no matter what comes our way.  #wepreach