Wednesday, March 27, 2013
By: Rachelle Hitt Bilbo
Keep On Keeping On
Mark 14:38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Have you ever been surrounded by people yet you still felt like you were all alone? Jesus understands.
In Mark 14, Jesus is approaching the final hour before He experienced the most horrific death any man has ever faced. Before facing His darkest trial, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He expressed to His disciples in verse 34 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."
He asked them to "stay here and keep watch" as He prayed. In Luke 22:44, the Bible says that Jesus was in "anguish" and "His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the grounds."
The medical term for sweating blood is Hematidrosis. According to medical research it occurs when a person is suffering extreme levels of stress, for example, facing his or her own death.
Jesus LITERALLY had the weight of the world on His shoulders. He knew the pain and suffering that He would go through and He still prayed that God's will be done.
Weak, overwhelmed and exhausted, He finds His disciples sleeping. In Mark 14:37 He asks them, "Couldn't you keep watch for one hour?"
He found His disciples sleeping THREE times before being handed over to His betrayer.
Jesus understands what it's like to be facing your darkest hour ALL alone. His disciples-His closest friends-should have prayed with Him. He was only asking for ONE hour yet they chose sleep instead. In His last hours, Jesus felt rejection, betrayal and loneliness from those He loved.
Jesus' pain and suffering was so great that He felt as if God had forsaken Him (Matthew 27:46).
However, He was NOT alone. God sent an angel to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43). God promises in Hebrews 13:5 that "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
I challenge you today to keep praying. Even in times when you feel like you are all alone and NO one is "keeping watch" with you, KEEP praying, KEEP believing, KEEP trusting in God. You are NOT alone. God is with you.
Dear Lord, Thank You that even in my most challenging times, I am not alone. I know that You are working all things out for Your Glory. I ask that You take all of my pain and suffering away, but, most importantly, let Your will be done in my life.
I thank You Jesus for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
