Morning by Morning, March 23 - From Gethsemane's Garden to Calvary's Cross
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You're the Savior of the World and the Savior of my soul. My soul waits to see where You'll lead me in prayer as I begin my day in the communion of prayer with You. ...
"Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' ... He said to them, 'I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with Me.' And going a little farther, He threw Himself on the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not what I want but what You want'" (Matthew 26:36-39).
As the Son of Man, the only sinless man, You willingly chose to submit Your will to the Father's will. Even as You cried out to the Father "If it is possible," You must have remembered Your own words "For God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). Yet it seems, even in the sovereignty of God, it was not possible for me and my world to be forgiven of our sins apart from the sacrifice of Your life. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; (but we) are now justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by His blood, effective through faith" (Romans 3:23-25).
Knowing in Your heart what was to come of Your life, You knelt and agonized and cried out to God the Father in passionate prayer in the garden that night -- the Garden of Gethsemane, named for the place where the olives from the trees were crushed into oil. We can't even begin to fully comprehend what it means to say You were "deeply grieved, even to death" (Matthew 26:38). "In (Your) anguish (You) prayed more earnestly" until even Your "sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (Luke 22:44).
Your willing crucifixion on Calvary's cross was the ultimate manifestation of Your willing surrender to the will of the Father in Gethsemane's garden. You were willing to be "crushed for our iniquities" in incomprehensible pain so that "upon (You) was the punishment that made us whole" as "the Lord laid on (You) the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:4-6).
In the freedom of Your will, You could have chosen another way (Luke 4:5-8). You could have chosen to resist drinking from the cup (Matthew 26:39). You could have chosen to call down "legions of angels" to deliver You from all You were about to endure (Matthew 26:53). And we can't begin to comprehend the depths of Your anguish and all You endured on our behalf as You cried out from the cross, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" -- "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46)
Through the gift of prayer I only have by Your grace, I say Thank You, Lord Jesus. And I know my weak words can never begin to express the debt of gratitude I eternally owe to You. But I do thank You. And I do praise You. And on this day, I do remember You and all You've done for me through the agony of Your prayers in Gethsemane and the suffering of Your sacrifice on Calvary. "By grace (I) have been saved through faith, and this is not (my) own doing; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). And as they say, Your grace is free, but it was not cheap. Thank You, Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
I pray you will embrace the grace of all God has done for you through the incomprehensible sacrifice of Jesus Christ, with eternal gratitude in your heart to Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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