When God's Answer is No
Easter may seem like a distant memory already, since it was 5 days ago, and we pack so much into our days in the 21st century. But there’s a part of the Easter story that’s lingering with me. It’s the Garden of Gethsemane part.
Jesus was about to face the express purpose for which he
came to this planet, and basically, he was having second thoughts. He had
previously volunteered to leave heaven to be born a helpless babe to an
imperfect mother in a primitive time for a gruesome reason. The proposition was
to squeeze Eternity into the burial clothes of human flesh and die a torturous death he
didn’t deserve. It took some humbling of
himself, but Jesus did it willingly according to Philippians 2:2-5.
And we know from Hebrews 2:2 that he endured the cross for
the joy set before him, the joy being the reconciling to himself the crowning
creation crafted in his image.
But in between the humbling of himself and the joy set
before him there is this mess in the Garden of Gethsemane.
No one gets through this fallen life on Earth, or even the
abundant life for that matter, without facing hard things. And even for Jesus
it didn’t look pretty. He was sweating it out. He begged and pleaded for Plan
B. It kept him awake that night.
But God ultimately answered his prayer with no. He does that sometimes, and it can be a real bummer.
You can read the rest at Laced With Grace. Come, and let's figure out what we're supposed to do when God's answer is no.
2 comments
So true, Dawn. We don't always see the benefit of the "no" answer, but God's no to Jesus' prayer was a yes to mankind. Without that, we would have no hope. We have to trust Him to get it right. Great post!
ReplyDeleteLaura, one of your posts last week with this thought in it is partly why I've pondered Gathsemane into this week after Easter.
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