He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “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.” [Mark 14.35-36]
Jesus was not ignorant of God's will when He was in the Garden. His flesh didn't necessarily like it, but He knew God's will! God's will is only a mystery to those ignorant of the Scriptures.
Contrast Jesus' knowledge of God's will to our knowledge of God's will in our dark hours.
In fact, our dark hours are typically such because we do not know God's will. Look at the following statement by Jesus and consider whether it sounds like He was, or ever would be, ignorant of God's will:
And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.” [John 8.29]
I can think of no record of Jesus not fully understanding and working within God's will.
Why am I saying this? I say it because we have made God's will out to be some kind of mystery that, in most cases, we attribute our troubles to as some kind of pious religious exercise of submission. And, we usually draw this conclusion only after we have exhausted every effort to overcome it.
Here is a scenario: A "Christian" man it told he has cancer. He quotes Jesus in the Garden and says, "not my will, but your will be done." He gets cancer treatments. Why? If the man truly believes the cancer is, or even may be, God's will, he, like Jesus, might ask God for exemption, but ultimately shouldn't he accept the fate? Did Jesus not tell the disciples to put their swords away? Couldn't the disciples and their swords have been God's will to deliver Jesus (or at least try to)? Of course not!
You see, Jesus was convinced of God's will. There were no doubts. Even though Jesus knew 'it was going to hurt' He was committed to the Cross. There was no effort whatsoever by Jesus to resist the Cross. In fact, when He could have spoken to defend Himself, He remained remarkably silent.
My point is that we should be so confident of God's will. Jesus' confidence came from knowing the Scriptures and therefore, the heart of God. Jesus' prayer wasn't to know God's will, but rather to implement it. Jesus never implied that His fate was revealed in prayer, but rather, Jesus always quoted the Scriptures about His purpose. His prayer then only confirmed and fine-tuned the implementation of what He already knew from Scripture.
This brings light on Jesus' instruction to His followers about how to pray.
May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. [Matthew 6.10]
If we are to pray for God's will on earth as it is in heaven, shouldn't we know how it is in heaven? Otherwise, how would we ever know our prayers have been answered? Hint: there is NO CANCER in heaven. The Scriptures reveal that Heaven is only good and full of blessings. If we are to mirror Jesus' confidence in life, then we too must know God's Word - which clearly reveals His will.
No one should ever quote anything as "God's will" unless they have concrete Scriptural basis for it. And, if Scripture supports it, then our efforts better not be found contrary to it! If we have the slightest notion that God wants us to have cancer, then it is pure rebellion to fight it. And, for the record, our 'story' needs to stay consistent to the end - we should not get to the end of a battle we are fighting fiercely but losing and then piously declare, "it was God's will that I lose..." Why even fight that battle - wouldn't that be disobedience? It makes no sense whatsoever!
Jesus knew from the time He knew anything, that His destiny on earth was the Cross. We have no business quoting His Garden conversation with God as some kind of mantra for ourselves when we do not even know what our purpose is for the rest of the day - let alone our entire life!
Father, forgive me for my gross ignorance of Your Word and my consequent ignorance of my purpose. I realize my ignorance is infectious to those around me - and so, forgive me for hurting them. May Your Word be given its proper place in my life and may Your will then, be done on earth through my life and interactions with others as it is in heaven. May I be found looking just like Jesus in word and deed because I know Your Word and will. And, may my prayer be the place Your will is given detail of names, places, and timing...
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