March 23 - The Submission.

Luke 22:42-44                         
“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
 
Have you ever asked God to remove something? Most likely we all have. Did you ask Him to do so only if it was His will? When we are in pain, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, our flesh wants it to end.
 
The Lord Jesus Christ felt the same way.
 
He asked God the Father, if He was willing; to remove Him from the suffering He was and was about to endure. He could have stopped there. He could have decided not to go any further in His mission… but He did not. Look at the next word… “nevertheless”.
 
What an example the Saviour sets for us… Jesus dismissed His own will.
“nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
 
It’s interesting to see that after the Saviour once again submits to the will of the Father, an angel comes to strengthen Him. God gave Him the strength to fulfill the Will of God. When we submit our own will to God’s will, He will strengthen us!
 
Christ then proceeded to pray earnestly in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed and agonized so much so that He began to sweat drops of blood. This is a very rare medical condition called, hematohidrosis. The capillary blood vessels that fed Jesus’ sweat glands ruptured. This caused His blood to exude out of His pores. This condition only occurs under conditions of extreme physical or emotional stress.
 
That is how fervently and earnestly Jesus Christ prayed for us before He gave His life for our sins on the Cross of Calvary. Most likely none of us have ever prayed so hard that we sweat blood. But Jesus loved us so much that He prayed to His Father, and Our Father, with extreme focus.
How much better could our prayer lives be?
 
No matter what you are facing today, Jesus shows us that it is to submit to the will of God.
 
Ask the Lord today to remove and resolve your situation IF it is His will to do so. Then follow Jesus Christ’s example…“nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
 
 
Bible Reading:
Deuteronomy 9-10  |  Mark 10  |  Psalm 52