SEP 6

Luke 22:42
Memorise Luke 22:42
“not my will, but thine, be done”

At the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus had always submitted to His Father’s will, and now as He was about to face His greatest trial ever, He continued to submit. The sin of mankind would be cast upon Him, and naturally His divine nature which knew no sin abhorred this, but He still submitted to His Father’s will in all situations without exception. He is truly our perfect example. In case you might think it was easy for Jesus to face all these trials because He was the Son of God, consider that in this most difficult of trials, He was still fully human, and as the Son of Man He bore the punishment of our sins. He could have called legions of angels to repel the soldiers who would soon arrest Him, but He did not. His human frailty caused Him to pray with sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down, later make Him unable to carry the cross the entire way, and finally endure the excruciating pain of crucifixion, but He went as a meek lamb to the slaughter, that God’s divine Will would be done. 

You who are made free from the bondage of sin by this perfect example of the Son of Man, will you in return submit to God’s Will in all situations? It is our human tendency to bargain and say you will try to obey His Will as much as possible, and already your mind prepares to give excuses for those times you will not do so: this trial is too hard, or I need some slack, or I am too tired, or I will make up for it the next time. The worst possible reaction is to think, I better not read God’s Word, then what I do not know of God’s Will I cannot be blamed for not doing! If Christ had given such excuses for not doing God’s Will, all of us would be condemned to hellfire.

Thought: What excuses do I give?
Prayer: May I give no excuses for not doing His Will