Lent 4 Submission
"Yet not as I will, but as You will." Matthew 26:39b
At bedtime tonight, Timmy and I were talking about things God created. We got onto the topic of Jesus. I explained to him the incarnation - that Jesus is God who became human; He was not created but really was a human. Now I don't know if he got it but I hope that eventually he will because acknowledging the two natures of Christ (human and divine) impacts our interpretation of the Gospels and therefore our lives significantly.
The humaness of Jesus is very evident as He wrestled in prayer in the Garden of Gethesame. See Matthew 26:36-44. During that difficult night, He was exceedingly overwhelmed with sorrow, He begged God to take away the suffering ahead of Him, and He found His companions to be unable to resist their urge to sleep when He was asking them to pray. Talk about intense and challenging! Yet what does He say?
"Yet not as I will, but as You will." Matthew 26:39b
Jesus had desires, He knew what He wanted to see take place (or not happen in His case) and yet He was able to submit Himself to God the Father's will. What an example for us! Even in the most distressing circumstances, it is possible to acknowledge our will and submit to God's. I want to encourage you, as you walk through the last 3 weeks of this Lenten season to open yourself up to the Holy Spirit exposing any areas in your life where you are not submitting to God, where you are saying, "not Your will but my will". Once an area is exposed, talk with God about it. Wrestle through it with Him. Tell Him exactly what your will is, what you think is best, how you feel, what you want. And then come to the place of submission following in the example of our Lord Jesus.
Christ be with you.
At bedtime tonight, Timmy and I were talking about things God created. We got onto the topic of Jesus. I explained to him the incarnation - that Jesus is God who became human; He was not created but really was a human. Now I don't know if he got it but I hope that eventually he will because acknowledging the two natures of Christ (human and divine) impacts our interpretation of the Gospels and therefore our lives significantly.
The humaness of Jesus is very evident as He wrestled in prayer in the Garden of Gethesame. See Matthew 26:36-44. During that difficult night, He was exceedingly overwhelmed with sorrow, He begged God to take away the suffering ahead of Him, and He found His companions to be unable to resist their urge to sleep when He was asking them to pray. Talk about intense and challenging! Yet what does He say?
"Yet not as I will, but as You will." Matthew 26:39b
Jesus had desires, He knew what He wanted to see take place (or not happen in His case) and yet He was able to submit Himself to God the Father's will. What an example for us! Even in the most distressing circumstances, it is possible to acknowledge our will and submit to God's. I want to encourage you, as you walk through the last 3 weeks of this Lenten season to open yourself up to the Holy Spirit exposing any areas in your life where you are not submitting to God, where you are saying, "not Your will but my will". Once an area is exposed, talk with God about it. Wrestle through it with Him. Tell Him exactly what your will is, what you think is best, how you feel, what you want. And then come to the place of submission following in the example of our Lord Jesus.
Christ be with you.
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