Today’s Post By: Rae Lynn DeAngelis
Our closest friends can follow us into the garden of despair; they can hold us, encourage us, and lift us up in prayer. However, there is a point at which even our closest friends cannot cross over. It is in this place that we must enter with only one by our side—God the Father.
“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’” (Matthew 26:36-38)
In our darkest moments, God meets us where we are and ministers to our spirits in ways only He can. Jesus knew this to be true, which is why He left His friends behind and went alone to be with His Father.
“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’” (Matthew 26:39)
Just as close relationships are established through time spent together, we must invest time alone with God and establish intimacy with Him. In this way, we experience the full benefits of a loving relationship with God and receive the true comfort and reassurance that only He can provide, especially during life’s grueling moments of darkness
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Like Peter, James, and John, some friends will walk further into the garden of despair than others, but only God can go the entire distance with us. Time alone with our Father will strengthen us for whatever comes our way.
