Good morning,
My soul is crushed
When God sent his son to live with us, he sent him to live in a world that had been captured by a hate filled angelic being who started a war in heaven that resulted in one-third of the angels being thrown out of heaven with him. In the short hand of Revelation 12 we are told that Satan was ready to devour this baby as soon as he was born. We are told, She gave birth to a son who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne.(Rev.12:5) We know from the Christmas story that Herod did his best to kill Jesus as a baby. Then when Jesus was an adult and had begun his ministry of love to his world, the people of his own village tried to kill him by throwing him off a cliff. Once Jesus became well known, the religious leaders of his day tried all sorts of plans to kill Jesus. Jesus said of these leaders, For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. (Jn.8:44) None of these plans worked because, no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come.(Jn.7:30) The Devil had one more desperate plan to stop God’s plan for the cross, at Gethsemane.
The last night that Jesus lived with us here on earth, he took his disciples to an olive grove called Gethsemane. Jesus went to pray and asked Peter, James and John to go with him. Jesus was so distressed that he said, "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”(Mk.14:34) Mark tells us that he prayed, "Abba, Father," he cried out, "everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”(v.36) Mark tells us that he prayed this way three times and Luke tells us even more when he wrote, Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.(Lk.22:43,44) The Devil tried to crush Jesus’ human body with grief, but God the Father made sure that his plan to defeat Satan at the cross would not be stopped by the one who hated God and hated the people who would some day be an important part of God’s eternal family. Jesus’ willing suffering and payment for our sins at the cross, his death and resurrection three days later, has defeated this hate filled enemy once and for all. God really does love his world and the people who live here. People still have to choose to admit that they are sinners and ask Jesus to save them. God’s children who are still living in time on earth will sometimes have to face crushing circumstances, but our Savior will be with his own to guide us to freedom and peace. Satan still tries to drive people to despair and suicide, but God is the one who has laid out the time line for each of our lives, and no one enters eternity without God’s permission. God’s plans always work, even when we don’t understand them.
Mark 14:36 "Abba, Father," he cried out, "everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine."
Roy Wisner
