ESOCS Devotional 22 March 2024 – The Will of God
MEMORY VERSE: “And he went a little further, and fell on his face and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Matthew 26:39
TEXT: MATTHEW 26:36-46
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
43 And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
44 And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
46 Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
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Submitting to the will of God is not easy when in our human senses the perceived outcome may not be favorable or may even be devastating to us. Often times, we do our best to see that we pray out the will of God using all the faith and psalms we can summon. However, most of the time we find ourselves continuing in the prayer and struggle to stop His will, only for His will to still take place. Then and only then, do we give up and say, well, it is the will of God, or an act of God.
That is the human nature. Since the Lord came as the Son of man, having human blood in Him, exposed to the pains, sorrow and tears of knowing He was going to not just die at the tender age of 33 years, but that it was going to be a death preceded by torture, extreme sorrow, bitterness and suffering, that human nature in Him naturally protested and compelled Him to pray that the cup may pass over Him. We recall that Hezekiah, when told that he was going to die, wept and prayed God to save him from death without living any room for the will of God. Of course, God answered Hezekiah and restored his life. However, Jesus Christ was able by the support of the Holy Spirit to make room in His prayer for the will of God to prevail over His own.
Most commentators agree that the statement “if it is possible” means ‘if man could be saved without me going through this torture and gruesome death’, then let this cup of suffering and death pass from me; but if not, let your will be done; let me suffer and die to save the world. Let us come home briefly: as a pastor or family head, you are told to submit yourself to be slain by an executioner; otherwise, your flock or household will all be killed. What will you do? Run away, or embark on seven days victory prayer to cast and bound it? I trust that most of us will settle for the last option.
The Lord, by this act, teaches us that in all things we should not only accept the will of God after it is done, but pray for His will to be done, whether good or bad; whether in danger or in peace. Let us at all times learn to submit cheerfully to the will of God, for this is Christ’s model.
- Are you at a cross road? Pray for the will of God to be done.
- Father, I present to you my present situation, and though my request is (mention your request), yet, let your will be done, not my will.
Further Reading: John 6:38. 2:8; Romans 6:8; Philippians
ESOCS Devotional 22 March 2024
