Not My Will but Yours

All of us want life to be easy. There's no sin in wanting to avoid pain, discomfort, difficulty or betrayal. But it's our response to suffering when it does come—and it will—that reveals how fully we show the world who Jesus is.

In His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46), on the eve of His betrayal at the hands of Judas, Jesus models for us the godly response in those moments when the agony of life presses down on us with a weight that seems unbearable.

Tellingly, Jesus decides to pray just a stone's throw from His disciples, close enough for His disciples to hear. Perhaps Jesus urges them to stay awake that they might witness the attitude that will prevent them from denying Jesus as Lord in the desperation that would follow his death.

Jesus shows us that it's OK to be deeply anguished in real trouble, and it's OK to ask God for deliverance. But the greatest lesson Jesus teaches here is that we must want God's perfect plan above all—not our own comfort. God never promises us a life free of suffering. But He does promise us His presence to endure through it. Are we true worshipers of Jesus, open to God's will whatever it is? Or, are we worshipers of an idol, a god whose job is to bless our dreams and protect us from all discomfort?