Matthew 26:42
“He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Thy will be done.’”

A Divine Revelation

Jesus, being 100% God, knew what was about to happen. But being 100% flesh He, like us, was looking for a way of escape. No flesh desires to suffer, to endure hardship, especially what Jesus was about to endure. All of us would have a difficult time submitting to the sovereignty of God if we had to walk the same path of suffering and death Jesus did. Yet even when we suffer minor setbacks, hardships, and trials, not only do we fail to submit to Him, but we call God’s sovereignty into question. “If You’re a loving God why are You allowing this?” Like Job, we feel we have the right to question God and if anyone had that right, it would have been Job. However, that is exactly what God reprimands Job for in Job 32:1-42:6. It’s worth the read!

God is sovereign! To submit to that sovereignty is to believe that He is in control and whatever is happening to us is a part of His divine plan. It also means believing that He is working it together for our good, and that the God of the Universe has our back in everything. During His prayer, Jesus, unlike Job, did not ask why of His Father. Therefore, He is the ultimate example of what it means to submit to the sovereignty of God.

Why is this difficult for us. Most of us think we’re in control which makes submission a mood point. In John 19:10, Pilate says to Jesus, “Do You not know that I have the authority to release You, and I have the authority to crucify You?” Jesus then answers him by saying, “You would have no authority over Me unless it had been given you from above.”  This is a rebuke to Pilate, and it is one for us as well.

So, what is our response to Satan when he inflicts his crushing blows upon our flesh through adversity? Do we ride the pity party train like Job did? Do we run for the exit? Do we try and fix it in ways that seem right to us? Do we hang on to control and get angry at God for allowing bad stuff to happen? There are many ways in which we handle the bad stuff that happens to us, but most of the time, it’s a far cry from submission.

A Divine Challenge

What does submission to God look like? Think of the way a child trusts a parent when they take them to get those painful shots that protect them from disease or when they have to discipline their child for wrongful behavior?  Don’t we say it’s for their best? Think of the way we, as people, have to trust in the devastating decisions our leaders make when they send us to war, and we have to kill another human being on the opposite side of the battle lines. Don’t we say it’s for the good of our nation or the people we’re defending? Yet when adversity or hardships come our way, to say it’s for our good seems cold and callous. Therefore, we hold God’s right to rule us in this same way with contempt. In reality, God is far more trustworthy than any parent and His leadership is far more righteous than any government. He has done more to earn our trust than anyone and yet He is often the one we most often doubt.

Call to Action

Beloved, the only “why” Jesus asked of His Father was at the moment when God had to turn His face away from Him as He was made to bear the weight and the penalty of the sin of all mankind upon Himself. Unfortunately, God had to turn away because He is too holy to look upon sin. At that moment, Jesus had to endure separation from His Father, not for those of us who would believe, but for those who wouldn’t. He drank the full cup of submission to the sovereignty of God to bear the penalty for sin, defeat death once and for all, and rise again to give us the hope of an eternity in paradise. So, beloved raise the cup of whatever trial or tribulation you’re facing. Submit it to God and DRINK UP! 

Father, we often doubt You when life deals us a bad hand. Help us to learn how to trust You with those difficult things that there is no answer for and that we cannot comprehend the good in. When we submit to You as Jesus Christ did, even the tragedy of the cross You were able to redeem. Let our hope hang on it! In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!