By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
A haere ana ia ki tahaki tata atu, ka takoto tapapa, ka inoi, ka mea, E toku Matua, ki te mea e ahei, kia pahemo atu tenei kapu i ahau: otira kaua e waiho i taku e pai ai, engari i tau.
Ua maliu faaitiiti atu i luma, ona faapaū fao ai lea o ia ma tatalo, ua faapea atu, Lo‘u Tamā e, afai e mafai, ia ave ese lenei ipu ia te au; a e aua le faia lo‘u loto, a o lou finagalo.
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:39
As Jesus faces the last hours before his death, he goes into Gethsemane to pray.
I think you and I often feel that the harder something is, the less God is involved. It’s easy to see God at work in the blessings, but it’s difficult to feel his presence in the trials and sorrows of life.
But we know from Scripture that God is just as near in the sorrow as he is in the joy. Psalm 23 proclaims that even in the valley of the shadow of death, God’s shepherding hand is with us, comforting us.
As Jesus faces his own valley of the shadow of death, as the perfect storm of his Father’s wrath is about to descend upon him, he draws close to the Father.
On the edge of that dark valley, Jesus seeks the Lord in prayer. He calls him “Father”. He models what faithfully walking through the darkness is like: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” He pleads with his Father, and he submits to the Father's will.
A second time, Jesus prays: “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
Once again, Jesus submits to the Father's will. In every step that he takes along the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus shows his trust in the Father.
Jesus knows that in trials and in suffering, God is present and working. Instead of facing the valley alone, he leans in to his Father and embraces the purpose that he has for it.
