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Accepting God's Will
As I listened to last Sunday’s sermon on how fear can derail our goals, I thought of my recent heart surgery and Christ’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. While these two situations are not identical, I can say that both the Lord and I shared a real fear of what was about to happen.
In the weeks leading up to my procedure, I worried about the risks and was concerned about Doris and our family. If something went wrong, how would they deal with me being gone? Did I do enough to take care of them financially? Until the minute they wheeled me out of the room, I found myself wondering whether I would ever hold my wife again or see my kids and grandkids.
Those were very real fears. But I also had faith in the doctor and medical staff; they had done this many times before. In spite of my fears, I was determined to move forward with the procedure for the sake of my health.
As Jesus was praying in the garden, He had very real fears about the pain and torture that lay ahead (Matt. 26:36-46). But His fears were not the same as mine. While he knew his death was part of the eternal plan, He still prayed for the cup to pass from Him. His anxiety was so strong that His sweat fell as great drops of blood (Luke 22:44).
Yet when the mobs approached, Jesus courageously stepped forward and said, “I am he” (John 18:4-8). Though He dreaded what was coming, His fear did not stop him (cf. John 12:27-28; Luke 12:50). He handled his fear differently than Peter, who drew a sword and cut off the ear of one of the mob.
The lesson: Fear is not the real problem. We often fear what never materializes. We worry about “what ifs”: What if the procedure goes wrong? What if I get sick down the road?
My hope is that when we fear, we will handle it as Jesus did; that we will put our faith in God and ask, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39).
