WHEN JESUS ASKED GOD’S WILL BE DONE
Just before his arrest, Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done. In the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, “Father, this is the last thing I want. If there is any way, please take this bitter cup from Me. Not My will, but Yours be done.” [Matthew 26:39, The Voice]
At that moment we see Jesus pray the way he taught his disciples to pray. He was honest with God: he asked for what he wanted that day—to be spared the agony of dying by crucifixion. Then he prayed for God’s will to be done. We know how God answered Jesus’s prayer. God didn’t take the bitter cup away; Jesus died in physical agony.
How do we understand God’s answer to His Son’s prayer? Must we believe that God’s will was for Jesus to suffer so horribly? John 3:16 explains God’s answer this way: “For God expressed His love for the world in this way: He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not face everlasting destruction, but will have everlasting life.”
God’s will wasn’t for Jesus to suffer; God’s will was to make a way to save humanity.
A PERSONAL EXAMPLE
Many years ago I had a job for which I was not suited. I had the skills, but not the personality for the work. My colleagues resented me and blocked me at every turn. I prayed fervently for another job, but I also prayed for God’s will to be done. (I prayed for doors to open or close.) After a year of applying for jobs without receiving a single interview, I decided God’s will must be for me to stay where I was. I was in that job for ten more years. At the time I couldn’t understand why God left me in that difficult situation. But as I look back, I see God’s will wasn’t for me to be unhappy at work; God’s will was for me to support a family member in that place.
YOUR TURN
Have you experienced a time when it seemed God’s will was for you to suffer? As you look back, can you see why God allowed your suffering?
A passionate reader, I began writing as a young girl. After graduating from college, I became a teacher. Over the course of my career, I taught high schoolers, college undergraduates, and public school teachers how to write personal narratives, expository and persuasive essays, as well as poetry and short fiction. I continued to write: publishing professional articles, two textbooks, short stories, and poetry. In 2013, I won first place in Romantic Suspense in the ACFW Genesis Contest.
Yes, ma’am, I have. I remember all to well having a child at age 23 who had Down’s Syndrome. I remember him struggling to live and finally losing him at 5 months of age. I learned that God does not make these things happen, they just happen and it is how we handle them, and how we go on to help others that counts.
The death of a child must be the deepest grief anyone has to cope with. I know first-hand how you help others deal with all sorts of loss. Thank you for sharing your experience.