36-38Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, “Stay here while I go over there and pray.” Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow. Then he said, “This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”
39Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want?”
40-41When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”
It seems like this past week, God was really trying to get my attention through others. And this is how…people kept asking me for spare change throughout the week. Now have you ever had a moment where someone asks you for spare change? But then you have that moment of truth where you either give it to them or you don’t. As I was reflecting on these encounters…I felt God ask me, “do you have any spare change?” Now when God asked me that, I know he wasn’t asking me for money but he was asking me if I was ready to make some room for some change in my life. I think that’s exactly what God was doing in Jesus’ life in this passage. I just want to share three things that God shared with me:
He was Alone
Jesus was about to do something he’d never done before. And in order to follow through with God’s will, he needed to depend on God. I feel it’s the same with what God is doing in my life and within Victory Outreach Whittier. What got us here has been great but if we want to go where God is calling us to be…we need to go to a whole other level. Jesus was in a place where he needed to hear from God. And it’s the same with us. We need to get into a place where we truly depend on him. We can’t just do things the way we’ve always done it. Now is not a time to coast…but to step up to the challenges that God is placing before us. With him…we can do all things.
He was Attacked
I was listening to a message the other day by Craig Groeschel and he said something that really caught my attention. He said, “When I make a decision to change, Satan gives me excuses to stay the same.” Isn’t that the truth? We might say it’s just us. But it’s not. God will never birth failure in our hearts. But since we are people that are going forward…we have to be ready for the attacks that are coming. We’re in a fight right now…and we have to win because God is on our side. I don’t know what your attack is. Maybe you’ve decided to pray more but find your mind wandering when you’re about to hit your knees. Maybe you’ve decided to be a better spouse but you find yourself jumping to conclusions. Or it could be that you’ve decided to pay more attention to your family but find yourself working more and more. I’ll tell you what…you’re being attacked. Don’t let the enemy hit you while you’re down. And like Jesus…satan might try to use those closest to you to really hurt you.
He was Able to Adjust
In the end, Jesus adapted to the plans that God had for him. God has great plans for all of us. But if we can’t change with the different things that God has for us….how can we fulfill the plans that he has for us. I just read a story about CHANGE that really stuck with me. The story was called “Who moved my cheese?” The story is simple. It involves 4 characters (2 mice and 2 little people) who are stuck in a maze and their whole purpose is to get cheese. [Cheese means something different for everyone]. So they wake up one more, put their running shoes on and go looking for cheese. They find cheese, they eat cheese and then they go home, sleep and get ready to do it again. One day they found a huge storehouse of cheese. As time passed, they no longer woke up with an urgency because they knew where to find cheese. Eventually they moved their home closer to the cheese. As time passed, the cheese was gone. The mice decided to leave and look for some more cheese. But the little people made things complicated. They thought someone had moved their cheese. They decided to go home, wake up and come back the next day because this had been their routine for so long. They came back and there was no cheese. They got mad. They really thought someone was messing with them. By this time the mice had found a storehouse of cheese bigger than the last one. Finally there came a day when one of the little people decided to make a change. He said, “we have to leave, there is no more cheese here.” The other was determined that someone was playing with them. As one took off and one stayed…their outcomes were both different. One died and one caught up to the mice. Which character are you in the story? Are you the mice that’s able to adapt quickly to change? Are you the person that sticks around until it makes sense…then finally makes the move right before you’re about to die? Or possibly are you the person that’s stuck in your ways? Be careful because something in you might die.
