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As this journey progresses, I find some intriguing dynamics unfolding. I find myself asking God questions like, should I spend time on this, or should I focus on this pursuit?
I realize what I am really asking is: Do I want to do it my way or God’s way?
The answer brings to mind a very powerful passage from the New Testament scripture found in the gospel writings.
In the Gethsemane-garden conflict, Jesus wrestles with the next chapter of his life. He brings his disciples to the garden, located about 3.7 miles (6.1km) from Jerusalem. Taking Peter, James, and John, Jesus separates them from the others. He then separates himself from the three to focus on prayer.
Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
Matthew 26:39 The Message
Consider this
In this story, you have the architecture of the redemption plan (the Godhead devised the plan) in agony over the next step of the plan. He knows how vital it is for him to carry it out, and yet, Jesus utters the words, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this.”
Why would Jesus ask this?
The Bible does not explain, but I put forth some speculation for you to consider.
Humanity is made in the image and likeness of God, and Jesus is God in the flesh. It is written in human DNA to live, and Jesus is experiencing the power of this desire as he faces death.
Of course, he concludes the request with, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
In other words, I surrender my will to yours.
Here’s the point
If the creator struggled with surrendering his (human) will to God’s divine will, it makes sense that Christ-followers will have the same struggle.
Even though your struggle may not be life versus death, it is the surrendering (letting go) of your will or desire for the will of the Father.
In his writings to the Corinthian Christ-followers, the Apostle Paul makes this statement:
That’s why we have this Scripture text: No one’s ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it – What God has arranged for those who love him.
I Corinthian 2:9 The Message
God has arranged something for those who love him. However, it is those who surrender to him that experience that “something.”
To the degree of your surrender, you will experience God’s “something.” For example, when you surrender your life to follow Jesus, you experience eternal life.
This is important for two reasons.
First, eternal life is something to be experienced in the future.
In the Old Testament writings of the Prophet Isaiah, we find:
“For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. ”
Isaiah 55:9 The Message
In other words, God thinks eternally, while humanity thinks temporally, which explains why Jesus struggled in the garden. His human nature was wrestling with the temporal idea of dying.
The second reason for its importance is God’s “something” is different than our “something.”
For example, another Old Testament story finds Joseph (a son of Jacob) thinking his God’s dreams meant he would rule over his siblings. Although he was correct, he completely missed:
1—the timing of God’s “something”
2—how it would unfold
God’s will was accomplished, and Joseph surrendered to it, but it a lot longer than he imaged, and happened in a way that never entered his mind.
In fact, it looked like the opposite was happening.
My personal garden struggle
I come from a long line of family morbid obesity. It governs my daily dietary habits. What will happen if I surrender that to God? It will mean I relinquish control over my eating habits, but what if God wants me fat (no disrespect intended)? How can I live with that?
Please understand that I am conveying a personal struggle and not suggesting that God will tell me how to eat.
The point is to surrender or give up control to allow God’s will to be accomplished in my life.
It is a serious struggle for me, but the question is am I willing to surrender?
The answer comes from my willingness to trust the God that I am surrendering to, and such surrender happens because of a close personal relationship with him.
I surrender because I trust him to take care of me, which could explain why Jesus said, “Your will be done, not mine.”
The journey is exciting and scary, and I am thankful for everyone who is willing to accompany me on it.
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