Do You Have Your Will in Place?

Luke 22:42 - Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

o   It would appear that Jesus is facing the most difficult hour of his life. We have never seen him in this state before. He is on his knees and struggling under the crushing weight and realization of what is ahead. I am sure that Jesus was not only struggling over the terrible torture and pain of the crucifixion, as horrific as that would be, as much as He was struggling over the appalling thought of bearing the sin of the world and thus driving himself away from His Father. He had enjoyed a very intimate relationship with his Father God all during the days of his life, and now, at this darkest hour, it is the Father that He calls out to. Father, if you are willing. Jesus appeals to the tenderness of his Father and, for a split second of time, asked for this ordeal to pass. He knew that there was no other way but, Jesus, the man, in this heavy moment identified with all men, he identified with the tendency to take another route to the throne, to sidestep the cross, and to avoid the hardships of life. This nightmare of a test is described by Jesus as a cup that He must drink. For all of His days the only cup He knew was the cup of joy and fellowship with God, the cup that runs over with blessing and goodness. Now he must drink a different cup, a cup of the darkest and most hideous thing known to mankind; the cup of that poison that separated Adam from the sweetest of friendships, the cup of sin. An eternity seems to hang in the balance as Jesus reels beneath the burden of the plan of God. Angels are, no doubt, hushed as they wait and watch in anticipation. We can imagine them saying, What will this man do? How will he choose? Thousands of years ago, in another garden, a man chose his own way over God’s way and thus broke the heart of the Father God, and started a destructive chain reaction of sin and death. How would this Last Adam choose? It seems that He is asking for exemption from the will of God, he is asking for special treatment. Oh no! This can’t be. Wait. Hold on, the angels say, He is about to speak again. Nevertheless. What did He say? Nevertheless. Hallelujah! He said nevertheless! Oh! How thankful we should be for that one word; nevertheless. All of eternity hinged on that history-making word. Not my will, not my choice or my determination, but what you determine, Father. Your will, your choice, what you determine is the best way and the only way. George Mueller once wrote, ‘When we forsake the ways of the Lord during the hour of trial, the food for faith will be lost’. Jesus chose God’s way and thus his faith was nourished and He was strengthened to press onward and to boldly face the Cross and to drink the cup of His destiny. Thank God for Jesus! What an example to all of us who struggle in our own ‘Gethsemane’, wanting our own way, attempting to avoid the inevitable challenges and hardships of life. I believe that we can also pray that prayer along with Jesus, ‘Not my will, Father, but your will be done’. As we bend our will to His will, Heaven’s strength will come flowing in and we can arise and walk into the day and into our destiny.