39 And He (Yeshua) came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40 When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. 45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46 and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” -Luke 22 39 - 46 (NASB)
Several years ago comedian Jeff Foxworthy got some mileage with a routine called "You might be a redneck if". What made the bit funnier in my opinion was the fact that the people he referred to, may not have been aware that they actually fit in that category. I enjoy humour like that, commentary on the human condition through the speaking of truths that people may not want to see about themselves (hmmm … sounds familiar doesn't it?) When I think about the story in this week's Torah portion Bo (Exodus 10:1 - 13:16), I am amazed at the stubbornness of the Pharaoh. He simply refuses to budge from his position despite the overwhelming evidence that he was not going to win this battle with God (hmmm … that sounds familiar too). For real insight, contrast this stubborn behaviour with the words of the Messiah in the Luke passage you just read -- Yeshua prayed "if it is possible, remove this task but yet, not my will but YOURS" Like many difficult choices, doing what He eventually did (dying), wasn't the way He would have chose, but it was the way that was necessary. How we answer this kind of prayer says much about who we really are, not who we say we are. Later on in these verses we see this point illustrated (people saying they are one thing but doing another) as the Messiah deals with His disciples, seeing they are not yet at the point they should be. While we may have wondered or even looked down a bit on how these guys could have fallen asleep on their Master when He seemingly needed them most, we would have to admit we have failed Him many times as well. Like the Redneck bit however, we may not even be aware that we fit in that category. Is there an area in our life God is pointing out to us, that we are stubbornly refusing to budge in? If I honestly look at that question in my own life I have to say yes and then the prayer and crying out to God starts :) Just like the disciples, who still needed quite a bit of tweaking (and the outpouring of the Spirit), we too need to recognize that we are stubborn in some areas and must follow Yeshua's model "not my will but YOURS" to get it straightened out. Actually when it comes right down to it, God spends much of our journey here in this life breaking us of our stubborn will (specifically our pride) and the need we have to have things work out how "we'd" have them. Eventually, if we let Him, He conforms us to the truth that it is better if they work out how He would have them (Romans 8:28). In stark contrast to the Pharaoh, Yeshua and other characters in the scriptures modelled a kind of life that is so foreign to most of us in the culture we are ensconced in. Putting our wants second isn't highly praised today in popular culture, yet in God's Kingdom it is the only way to achieve greatness (the last shall be first and the first shall be last "-Matthew 20:16). I guess if you're determined to be stubborn in something, being stubborn in living out that verse works for me.
Myles
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