You’ll have every right to cry “bait and switch” on me with that title because, alas, I am not going to give you the secrets to a beautiful and bountiful garden. Honestly, I never wanted to grow vegetables. All I ever dreamed of since I was about 4 years old in my grandmother’s garden was to have an abundance of flowers. And that’s exactly what I’ve grown most of my adult life.
No, the garden of today’s chat is one that is familiar to most of us – the Garden of Gethsemane. While the end result is magnificent, Jesus’ time in the Garden was nothing like our sweet little picture above.
One of my devotions recently was a walk through the book of Mark, and of course, that includes Jesus’ time in that infamous Garden. God laid a profound thought on my heart as I was reading through chapter 14 and the accompanying thoughts of the writer.
I want to take a brief detour before I get into the meat of that new revelation. If you’ve been following this blog for any period of time, you may have noticed how often I write about something that came to me through one of my devotionals. It’s also often where my four weekly posts in my Christian widow Facebook group originate.
So I’d like to exhort you all, if you aren’t doing this already, to find one or more devotions that you can read on a daily basis. Personally, I have 4-5 going at one time. Sometimes it’s the exact words in the narrative that speak to me. But so often, it’s a new thought that God places on my heart and in my mind because I’ve just spent time in his Word. Don’t miss out on this personal engagement and encouragement from God!
Such was the case for today’s topic. The author was drawing attention to the text in Mark 14:33 which reads like this in the ESV translation:
And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
The author of the devotional pointed out the humanity of Jesus’ emotional state in the Garden, as he looked ahead to all the heartache and agony that awaited him. To quote the author, “He went as a sorrowful, suffering, willing human.”
I found myself curious as to how other translations might have described Jesus’ emotional state. In addition to “greatly distressed and troubled,” here’s what else I found:
- “…deeply grieved and overwhelmed.”
- “…exceedingly sorrowful unto death.”
- “…filled with horror and deepest distress.”
- “…sank into a pit of suffocating darkness.”
- “…overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
- “…troubled and deeply distressed.”
- “…began to dread, and to be distressed.”
Not a pretty picture, is it?
Now let me introduce the new idea God laid on my heart as I read through this day’s reading.
How often have we quoted scripture texts about not worrying – either to ourselves or to others? Here are the most “popular” ones.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Matthew 6:25
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34
Those texts make it quite clear that we should not worry or be anxious about anything in our lives. And yet, look back at all the descriptions of Jesus as he faced the horror once he stepped out of the garden.
How can both be true?
Granted, anything deeply disturbing in our own lives will never compare to what lie ahead for Jesus. But in our own humanity, it can feel overwhelming when we’re in the middle of our trial.
Experiencing deep heartache and overwhelming situations isn’t sinful. It doesn’t go against scripture. If Jesus went through this in HIS humanity, surely we aren’t expected to “put on a happy face” every time we’re faced with adversity.
No, the difference maker here, and what Jesus so perfectly modeled for us, is that he turned to his Father in total dependence. He didn’t exert his own will over the Father’s.
When overwhelming troubles bombard us mercilessly, we are going to experience many of the emotions that Jesus did. But do we stay there? Do we think it’s up to us to crawl out of this pit in our own strength? Do we have a laser focus on the unfairness and the agony of our trial?
Or do we, as Jesus did, accept the Father’s will for our lives in this difficult time, knowing that we can turn it over to him in total dependence? Do we rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us for whatever lies ahead?
The next time I’m attacked with a trial that knocks me off course, I pray that God will remind me of this blog post. That I’ll know the emotion of the moment isn’t wrong, but failing to turn it all over to a good and sovereign God is where I can go completely off track. I pray you’ll have the same reminder for the trial you’re in today, or for the trial that knocks on your door tomorrow.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15