In Times of Desperation

"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

There are times when I feel I cannot go any farther. Sometimes I want to fall to my knees and tell God that I just cannot deal with life any longer. It seems too difficult, too cruel. These are the times when I have little strength left. The battle has wearied me, the grueling race seems too long. Yet in these moments, there is one thought that brings solace; someone has gone before me. The path I am walking has been walked before, and his journey ended with the greatest of victories.
    I imagine what Jesus must have felt that early morning in the garden. The emotional pain, the fear of what was about to happen to him, must have been nearly unbearable. Jesus was God, yet he was entirely man. The pain was real and the agony of his heart, sincere. He knew that the most difficult days of his life lay just ahead. Even though he was intimately in touch with his Heavenly Father, he asked if there was any other way to accomplish the goal without the suffering. He asked, knowing full well there wasn't. He simply needed to let it out. He needed to express to his Father exactly how he felt.In this moment, his humanity was fully on display.
    Ultimately, Jesus surrendered his will to the will of the Father. He asked, he expressed his desire, but then he submitted his will and desire to the plan of the Father. The result was history changing. He could have exerted his authority, he could have called legions of angels to deliver him, but he didn't. He chose the difficult road. He submitted his will.
    In the moments when we feel like we cannot go on, in the days when it seems that the future is as black as a coming ominous storm, these are the times when we must must say to God, "Not my will, but yours be done." He knows our future and he understands the pain we bear. He has already walked the path. There remains a great hope that we, like him, will emerge as victorious champions. Hear, oh heavens! Hear, oh earth! Hear, oh people of God! Jesus is victorious and we are his!