Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

I don’t know how well we can imagine the depth of Jesus’ commitment, expressed here. We imagine what might happen to us, but Jesus knew the magnitude of what He was facing. Everything in His humanity was crying out, NO! But He submitted anyway, out of His love for the Father and His love for us. Even if we face physical hardship comparable to His scourging and crucifixion, which is unlikely to say the least, we still don’t face what was probably the hardest thing on Him: being cut off from the Father because of our sins, when they were coequal members of the Trinity. Anything we might face pales to insignificance beside that, because in Christ, nothing can now separate us from the Father’s love. (Romans 8:38-39) When we focus on ourselves and what we see as our problems, those problems seem huge, even insurmountable. When we focus on Christ and what He did for us, everything else falls into perspective, and we can have peace and even joy in the middle of whatever we’re going through. This is what Jesus was talking about in John 16:33, when He said, “But rejoice, for I have overcome the world.”

As often as I preach this to others, I still need to be reminded of it myself! It is some comfort that Jesus did at least pray that the cup be taken from Him, so it’s no sin to pray to be delivered from circumstances, but I’ve got to remember, and practice, the submission to the Father’s will that Jesus expressed immediately after that. My flesh is as demanding as anyone’s, but I must not let it be in control. For me, it’s generally not so much physical issues as such, but things like my convenience or my habits or my preferences. How trivial! I am surrounded by God’s gracious provision, and yet I complain! I need to listen to and apply the messages God speaks through me, or I will be deceiving myself. (James 1:22)

Father, thank You for all You are doing, both around me and in me, and even through me. Help me not resist any of it, but cooperate fully with what You are doing, with joy and not grudgingly, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!