LET US GO FROM BEING FULL OF APPREHENSION TO BEING FILLED WITH PEACEFULNESS
Can you imagine in your mind the face of Jesus? When he was around children you see a smile on his face. When he found that his friend had died the Bible says that there were tears in his eyes. When Jesus was awakened from sleep in a boat in which the disciples thought they were going to perish he had a look of sternness as he called to the wind and waves to be still. When he taught the truths that he had from the Father he had an honest look on his face. When he was asked questions to try and trip him up you see a face of being disturbed. In our Scripture we find that he had a look of pain. He had not had this look before. There are some who have seen a picture of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane with his face with a soft look, his hands folded and kneeling besides a rock praying. Jesus it seems is in a very peaceful time in his life. Let us turn to what the picture is in the gospels to see if this is what is what is really right? MT 26:37, "he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
MK 14:. 44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
LK22:"35Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.
So how would see this scene? Jesus is not in peace in a kneeling position, he is flat on the ground. His face is in the dirt. His hands would be stretched out perhaps holding onto the grass. He is making sobs that cause his body to rise up and down with each sob.
What do we do with this scene? Perhaps this is a good passage to turn to when you are feeling fearful or afraid? Would you not agree that fear is one of the hardest emotions if not the hardest that we face in this life? Jesus is seeing something so threatening that he was not just asking he was pleading for God to make a change in plans. “Take this cup away from me.”
Now let us ask what would make you make such a request? Facing a crowd? Having to speak in public? Driving on a highway? Knowing you are going to have to have surgery? Growing old? Having to take medicine to make you well that tastes awful? Whatever your fear is may seem small to others but to you your heart starts racing, you feel weak and your body seems cold. Here was Jesus facing a fear that made him not just sweat but it says his sweat turned to blood. They call this condition Hematidrosis. He was so full of anxiety that his sweat became as blood. He was more than anxious he was afraid. Worry that is turned into fear can do strange things to our physical bodies. One has said that if worry is a burlap sack then fear is a concrete block. It does not budge and keeps us from enjoying life.
Jesus faces fear here and it is amazing that he shares this with us in the Word. How different it is for us because we try to cover up our fears. If we have sweaty hands we put them in our pockets for no one to see. If we feel knots in our stomach we tell no one. Some hide their fears by talking more than they need to. Others will just stay away from being seen by anyone. Jesus did not hide that he had fear. He did not try to mask it over with a fake smile like some do, but he did ask God for strength. That he was full of fear was first heard by His heavenly Father. He did not go to his mother. He did not seek his disciples. He did not call on others to come and pray with him. His first appeal went to his Father.
Many have their escapes from fears. Some seek it at a bar where they can drown their fear with a numbing drink but their fear is only put on hold. Some go to a counselor but find that they are only human and can only give earthly solutions. Some will read a self-help book but find what has helped others does not drive the fear out of their lives. Some may even try a best friend to help solve their fear but find their friend might have the same fear or a worse one so no help is found. Here Jesus who is our example went first to his Father and faced his fear under his counsel.
We turn our minds to a man many years before Jesus who was shepherd but recommend us to do the same with our fears when he wrote, “I will fear no evil.” How did this man named David write such a claim? It was because he knew where to find help in the face of fears. “You are with me; your rod and staff, they comfort me.” David did not turn to other sheep, he turned to the great Shepherd. He did not waste his time staring at the problem he took comfort in the rod and staff. He knew where to fix his eyes and say, “I will fear no evil.
I once was with a man who fear being in a crowd of people. We were at a P. K. event in Denver, CO. We were outside during a break and it started raining. They had a tent where they sold books and so we rushed into that tent. There were many other men that did the same. So his fear overtook him but I was beside him. I told him to grab my hand and we would get out of there. He firmly grasped my hand and we wedged our way out of the crowded tent. He would not have made it if some one had not been there who could lead him out of his fear. After that event he said he overcame his fear. He needed help to face the fear and once he was helped he was an over comer. We need to keep our focus on the solution and not be chained to the fear. That is what Jesus did and that is what David did. Let us see what Heb. 12:1,2 says “and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, we cannot sit back in ease and let our eyes wonder on whatever comes before us and live in victory with God.
How did Jesus endure the fear of the cross? He went first to the Father. Perhaps the words of PS 56:3 came to his lips, “When I am afraid I will trust in you.”
We are not to avoid our life’s gardens facing fears. We need to enter those gardens not alone but with our Father. Enter and be honest wit him and open your heart, express your feelings in open with him. Let your words be specific. “Take this cup.” Share all the details of whatever the fear is. He will let you take your time. He is full of compassion and will listen until it is all out before him. He will not feel that your fears are thoughtless or ridiculous. He will not say, “Buck up” or “You just need to toughen up some.” He has been there and he knows where you are and what you are thinking. Greater than that he knows what you have need of.
The Father did not take away the cross but did help with the fear. So what does it tell us in Phil 4: 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We could take time to measure the size of our problem or we could talk to the one who can solve the problem or help us through it. Why carry the world of fear on your shoulders when you can talk to the One who runs the universe? Hope is a look away so what are you looking at right now?
When we have the peace of God we can partake of the Lord’s Supper with a right heart.
