When Jesus was greatly distressed and troubled

Jesus, greatly distressed and troubled

“And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark‬ ‭14:33-36‬

In a fallen world, there will be times when we may experience deep distress or physical, mental and emotional anguish. Some of the distress that we may experience may be avoidable. We must seek the wisdom of God so as not to place undue burdens upon our lives that God did not design for us. Moses was guilty of doing just that. And when his Father-in-law saw what he was doing by trying to lead a nation by himself, he said, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace." Exodus 18

What was Jethro's advice to Moses? Was it, "Suck it up Moses. This is the cross you must bear?" No! As Loren Pinilis puts it, "Jethro’s wise counsel was to delegate: to train up leaders who could take a portion of Moses’s authority and participate with him in caring for the nation. Moses could lead instead of holding everyone back. He could handle his workload. The people wouldn’t be frustrated. Leaders would be trained for greater things. And Justice would be administered."

The advice that Jethro gave to Moses was not just an Old Testament concept. We see it also in Acts 6 when the Apostles appointed others to take care of the needs of the widows so that they could give themselves to the priority of prayer and the word.

So there are times when the distress in our lives can be due to taking on more than we should and not allowing others to bear the burdens with us and for us . But there will be times when trouble will come that will cause deep distress that will be beyond our control. We will not be able to avoid it. Instead, we must seek God in prayer, not to deliver us from it, but, if it be His will, to give us the grace to go through. He promises that His grace will be enough. And it's during these times when God truly becomes our all and all. As someone said, "You'll never know that God is all you need, until He is all you have."

When facing the cross, Jesus set His face to go to Jerusalem. And on the day He would be arrested, He began to be greatly distressed and troubled. What did Jesus do? He not only prayed, if it were possible to let the cup pass from Him, He surrendered His will to the Father, which required that He willingly endure the cross for my sin and your sin.

"We must never underestimate the emotional and spiritual challenges that Jesus faced as his rejection, desertion, and crucifixion approached. The battle for our souls takes place at Gethsemane as much as it does at the Cross. Here, Jesus will not just battle those who hate him and those who will crucify him; he also has to battle his own humanity and will. In Gethsemane, the path that Jesus will follow—the path to the humiliation of the Cross—is determined by the only one who can accept it. Jesus offers himself to the Father and to us knowing the dire consequences." (Heartlight)

There will be times when we must seek God's wisdom so as to not put unnecessary burdens upon our lives. But there will be other times when we will face challenges that, if we turn to God, and trust His great love, He will give us the grace to endure. We will also come to cross roads in our lives, when we can choose to take the easy road, or choose to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to do our Father's will. In view of the cross of Jesus and his great love for us, may we choose in love to take up our cross and follow Him to the glory of His name. His grace will see us through.