Scripture: Matthew 26:37 to 39 BSB
37 He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.” 39 Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Sometimes our picture of faith looks an awful like make believe.
We imagine the faithful response to something frightening is to smile, quote a Bible verse, announce that God is in control, and make sure nobody can tell we are dying on the inside. Then we read about Jesus in Gethsemane.
Jesus is sorrowful. He is deeply distressed. He tells His friends that His soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death. Then He asks His Father for another way.
None of that disqualifies His faith. The Father does not abandon Him in the garden. He does not scold Jesus for bringing the request.
Jesus knows exactly where this road leads. He is not confused about what crucifixion means, and He does not try to convince Himself that it will be pleasant. He tells the Father what He wants: “Let this cup pass from Me.”
Then comes trust: “Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Faith can tell God, “I do not want this.” Faith can admit that we are scared. Faith can ask God to change the outcome. Jesus does all of those things. What faith refuses to do is make our obedience dependent on getting the answer we wanted.
A few minutes later, one of Jesus’ disciples grabs a sword. Jesus refuses it. He has access to power, but He will not use that power to escape the Father’s will. That is a far more demanding kind of faith than simply feeling brave when we’re fighting the make believe dragon.
If you are afraid today, you do not have to pretend otherwise. My challenge is to pray like Jesus. Tell God exactly what you want. Tell Him why you’re afraid. Ask Him for the outcome you hope for. Then give Him the sentence Jesus prayed: “Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Faith sometimes takes a step forward even when we don’t like the direction that step is headed.