Hey guys I'd just like to say Thanks heaps for the emails every week sometimes they really hit the nail on the head with what I'm going through at the time and its awesome to open up my inbox and have a email full of Gods greatness and his word rather then junk mail! God Bless ya's heaps, take care and please keep it up. I'm sure your touching many lives just like you've helped me understand and enjoy His Love and company more! Bless ya's,
Not Ashamed Youth Inspire
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke 22:44
I heard a sermon the other week from a series on prayer talking about being spiritually alert or are we asleep like the disciples were in those final hours with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane before he was arrested. But the thought that really hit me was the fact that here was Jesus on the eve of going to the cross to pay the ultimate price in laying down His life, being absolutely hammered by Satan.
It was almost as if Satan knew what was coming and was trying everything he could to throw Jesus off the path that God the Father had prepared for Him to walk that would lead to Jesus dying on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice and indeed the only sacrifice that could once and for all atone or put right the relationship between God the Father and humanity forever. If Jesus didn’t go through with this then for us, all would have been lost, there would have been no way for us to have our sins forgiven, the new covenant would not have been made and Satan would have won. So here we find Satan throwing everything he has at Jesus, it indeed was the moment of truth with all of eternity at stake!
Here was Jesus on the verge of something massive and it was in this time that He faced his greatest discouragement. Not that anything you and I do will ever compare to the cosmic enormity of what was going on in that garden 2000 years ago but I have certainly found this same principle to be true in my own personal life. In looking back it has often been the times when we have been on the verge of some major breakthrough or happening in our ministries that I have in these times encountered the greatest discouragement. It’s in these times that I have often felt like just walking away and leaving it all behind and this would certainly be true for me in following the dream of Not Ashamed Youth.
It’s almost as if our enemy knows what we are on the verge of or the potential for impacting the Kingdom of God we are about to make and those who don’t know Him yet. So Satan pounds us in the hope that we will walk away, just give up, never fulfilling or even remotely realising the potential of what could have been.
Jesus’ first response in this place He found Himself, as always was to spend time in prayer praying to the Father, praying for Gods will and for His strength. I love it how verse 43 says after Jesus had already been praying, “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.” In everything we need to be finding our strength and focus in God, not in other people. If it had been left up to the disciples to give Jesus the strength it wouldn’t have happened as they didn’t even have the strength to stay awake!
God has given us all dreams and He has an awesome plan for our lives but all too often we succumb to the gun fire of discouragement, disillusionment and doubt fired by the enemy. A great quote is “never dig up out of doubt what was planted in faith”. Sometimes we need to hold true to what we believe God has laid on our hearts that we may truly be the person God created us to be fulfilling His plan in our lives.
So when you feel like you are being absolutely pounded with discouragement, disillusionment and doubt, be encouraged as maybe you are on the verge of something big. My prayer for you would be that you would know Gods will through these times drawing close to Him and that you may be lifted up in His strength for the plans that God has for your life that you may truly be all you can be in Him, Amen!
Gods peace be with you.
Bless ya heaps and take care,
Andrew.
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Luke 22:44
