The Pain of Separation

4/5/12

Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.

Bible verse of the day: Matthew 26:39 " My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

One extraordinary fact to me about the story of Jesus on His way to the cross is that He began to fully comprehend what He was being called to do by his Father in heaven. The painful knowledge that He would have to bear the terrible weight of the collective sin of mankind left him face down in the garden of Gethsemane. As Matthew 26: 38 says, " My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." He knew that this was going to be awful, and for a period of time He would be separated from the protection of His Father. The thought of that painful separation frightened him greatly, and the only way for Him to deal with it was intense prayer. But when He emerges from His time in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus has already won the battle. He has stared his greatest fear in the face, and fully surrendered to the will of his Father as Matthew 26:42 points out " My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." With that statement, he has claimed victory over the temptation of the devil, and to prepare for what He knows He has to do to fulfill the prophesies of scripture. The amazing preparation that reveals the character and commitment of Christ to please his Father has just taken place. History is about to be changed forever. God has offered us a plan for salvation and forgiveness of our sins in and through His Son, and His Son has committed to carrying out the excruciating steps that must take place in order to fulfill the plan. The biggest stumbling block that scared the wits out of Jesus was that He knew that it would require a period of separation from the Father, while the Father's will was indeed being done. If it scared Jesus that much to be separated for any amount of time from the will of His Father that He ended up fast down in the dirt, should it not also terrify us? Hasn't Jesus warned us here about how scary that can be when we are walking alone in this world without the protection of God in heaven? The decision to walk alone in our lives, will lead to enormously painful consequences. I spent the better part of the first 38 years of my life walking alone, separated from not only the will of God for my life, but even acknowledging His presence. The pain of that separation ultimately led me to being face down in the dirt also, unable to find any lasting peace or joy from my efforts. Worldly success, yes occasionally. But deep abiding peace? Never. I am still want to try to do things on my own, without first praying and seeking the guidance of the One who knows me best and always wants the best for me. But more and more I am learning to consider the pain that usually results from my willful decisions. So what can I do? Did Jesus not love me so much that He gave me a road map in the Garden of Gethsemane? I need to pray and pray and then pray some more. That way I will be walking in the protection and will of my Lord when I face this broken world on a daily basis. The battle will be won before it is even fought on a daily basis. Our ability to reject temptatation never comes from our strength, but always from His strength living in us. When we are separated from His strength, we have no shot. We are defenseless against the schemes of the adversary, who " prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" as 1st Peter 5:8 tells us. I mean, all we have to do is wake up and there is already someone who is trying to destroy us. That scares me to the core. But it also humbles me to realize that I must depend on the protection of God, or that separation will lead to my demise. If I willfully choose not to pray every day, or not to study His word each day, then I will leave myself open to attack. When the trials come, I need to prepared for victory as Jesus was being prepared at Gethsemane. As he was led to the fate that awaited Him, He had already claimed His victory. His character was not being built in the Garden, it was being revealed. How we deal with adversity in our lives doesn't build our character, it reveals it. Do we trust in God or not? Do we believe His word is true or not? Are we going to try our best to obey what He tells us to do or not? As I get older, I realize how little the knowledge I have or perceive to have is really worth. I also realize how great God's wisdom is and how valuable that it is for keeping me out of of ditches. I have come to realize that true wisdom is the ability to keep ourselves out of situations that require it. I have come to realize that the cost and the pain of being separated from the will of God is much higher than I want or need to pay. The eye of the Hurricane is in His word and in His love. All around me is chaos and fear, but in Him is peace and strength. Thank you Lord Jesus for given me a road map to deal with my brokenness and rebellious spirit. Thank you that you went first, and took the weight of my sin so that I wouldn't have to. I could have never stood up to it. For without you, I am nothing.