Morning Moments

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!


(Matthew 26:36) Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. (37) And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. (38) Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. (39) And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (40) And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? (41) Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (42) He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (43) And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. (44) And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. (45) Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. (46) Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. 


Sometimes I don't understand why the Holy Spirit leads me in the direction He does, but as I follow, I always find what I need.  Today - in the early morning hours, I just wanted to sleep in.  It is something I rarely do, but I was so physically exhausted.  My dogs will not allow me sleep after 6:15 AM, because they are determined to go out and there is NO saying "no" to them about that.  I'm not sure how I got to this passage or why, but this is where I am and this is what I see -


Jesus knew that the time was at hand!  His heart was heavy and He was drawn to pray.  He asked the whole bunch to pray WITH Him, and then took Peter, James, and John (the inner circle) farther into the harder to "tarry and watch".


The Disciples - "sit and pray"
When I read these words I think of our position "in Christ", seated in the heavens with Him.  As disciples of Jesus we are to be in a constant state of prayer, praying always, without ceasing.  Wherever we are on earth we are positionally IN HEAVEN with Him.  We are all to be prayer warriors.  Then I ask myself what it was that Jesus expected them to pray for?  Certainly they were not praying for the menial things of life such as "give us today our daily bread", for they obviously could sense His agony.  He anticipated their prayer for HIM!


The Directive - "tarry and watch"
"Wait here and keep an eye out" is what Jesus was saying to the inner circle.  Pray, of course, but keep your eyes open, remain alert, be vigilant.  Well, it may be easy to do that when you are experiencing such intensity as was Jesus, but quite obviously these guys were physically exhausted and failed to realize the intensity of His agony.  After all, they had seen him under attack before and He was quite sufficient for the occasion. 


The Dread - "nevertheless"
I have some interesting questions about this whole scene here.  The Scripture is clear that Jesus KNEW what was about to happened.  After all, He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.  He even said, "For this cause came I into the world".  He had set His face as a "flint toward Jerusalem".  Was Jesus really trying to get out of the cross?  I don't think that is consistent with what Scripture teaches.  We do know that the writer of Hebrews says that He "sweat drops of blood ... resisting".  So what was He resisting?  Obviously, the Devil who once again sought to take His life before the cross.  Now I know that His life was not Satan's to take, but he had tried many times before to kill Jesus - JESUS RESISTED!  Remember that "He ENDURED the cross for the joy that was set BEFORE Him".


The Disappointment - "Could ye not watch..."
There is no disappointment in Jesus, but to be sure we certainly disappoint Him from time to time.  Here were men who had "left all" to follow Jesus, had seen His mighty works, but had also see the growth of opposition to Him, yet did not sense the seriousness of the hour to the extent that they would continue to watch and pray.


The Distraction - "temptation"
Satan was giving them a sedative, so to speak.  Sleep was the distraction!  Let's face it all of us need sleep, but when the moment is intense for US, we say, "Oh, I could not sleep a wink."  The temptation for us is always to become distracted in the midst of the intensity that God feels.  He is intent on reaching the world for Jesus - but we rarely sense that intensity.  He is intent that we tear down Satanic strongholds - but we rarely sense that intensity.


The Determination - "...thy will be done"
So, Jesus, alone in the garden agonized with such a heavy heart for the world He had made and for whom He would die, while the followers dozed.  BUT He was determined!  Perhaps it was here that He realized just how alone He would be in what was about to occur.  After all, they would go back to what they had been doing after His death.  To do it ANYWAY, simply because it is what He came to do and because He loved them and us so - HE WAS DETERMINED!


The Disregard - "...he left them...pray...the third time"
He didn't chide them here.  He simply let them rest.  He kept doing what He was compelled to do while they kept doing what they were content to do.  Isn't that just like Him?  He began a work in us that He will finish, in spite of our being content in the midst of crisis.  He is patient, but He is also persistent.  He may have indeed been praying for them...and for us!


The Design - "betrayed...he is at hand that doth betray me"
"Knowing that His time was come, He loved them to the end."  Life may sometimes be a picture puzzle to us, but He is the one who drew the picture.  He knows where the pieces fit, and it is really no puzzle to Him at all.


You and are mere pieces in His picture puzzle.  Just let Him place you where you fit and be content, not with your ability to figure it all out, but with His ability to put you where you fit.


BLESSINGS!