“My soul is very sorrowful…” Have you felt the deep suffering which stabs a soul? Has suffering past or present stirred your mind to question: Does anyone understand my suffering? Am I alone in this? What am I supposed to do with this pain? How am I going to get through this?
“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death…” (Matthew 26:38). With these words, Jesus shares His deep-seated sadness with Peter, James, and John. Then, He invites them to remain close: “Remain here, and watch with me.” Jesus remains as close as “a stone’s throw away” (Luke 22:41). It’s an incredibly intimate invitation for the disciples to share in their friend’s suffering, to stay near to their Lord, and to pray for Him, themselves, and the world.
Today, God’s eternal Word ushers us to walk with Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane. Our Savior shows us how to seek solace when our souls are drowning in sorrow.
Jesus has just come from the Last Supper with friends who didn’t fully grasp His good-bye. He’s about to be betrayed by one of his disciples. No stranger to suffering on earth, He’ll soon endure the greatest suffering known to man—dying on a cross for the sins of mankind. He faces a full cup of sorrow and suffering.
“He fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” -Matthew 26:39
Fully God and fully man,
Jesus has walked in the breathtaking beauty of the heavenlies and on earth’s dirt roads. He’s lived in His Father’s loving, joyful presence and in the hateful, warring world. He has experienced the Holiness of God and sinful man’s depravity. He is carrying out the prosperous life-giving plans of God while He battles the Enemy’s evil schemes.
In anguish, Jesus falls to the ground and prays.
With reverence, He addresses His Father.
With honesty, He acknowledges the battle building internally: His desire to embrace His part in the plan of salvation for mankind versus His desire to depart from the excruciating emotional, mental, and physical suffering fast approaching.
With humility and a heart of surrender, He submits to God’s will.
Jesus delves into prayer two more times, but his prayer changes. “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matthew 26:42). He’s praying for the success of His Father’s Plan and to drink the cup until it is finished.
The Gospel of John provides some insight into why He prays differently. “And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him” (Luke 22: 43).
Gethsemane in Hebrew, torculus olei, means “olive press.” Olives must be pressed in order to separate out their fruitful oil. In Gethsemane, sorrow presses on Jesus. He knows every detail of God’s Plan; such knowledge is soul-crushing. “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44).
When sorrow presses on Jesus, He presses in to His Father in prayer. God strengthens Him, enabling Him to press on to embrace the plan, to persevere from the Garden to cross, and to die on the cross and rise again, taking His seat of honor at His Father’s side.
Because Jesus pressed through, we will one day walk with Him in Heaven where there are no tears and no sorrow!
Application
When you feel overwhelmed with sorrow, how do you typically cope? Do you run from the pain? Seek distractions? Fight against God? Seek revenge of those who hurt you? Or crash in exhaustion?
Between prayer times, Jesus finds his disciples sleeping. “And he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’” (Mark 14:38b). Jesus’ soul-felt exhortation to His disciple is relevant for us today.
When you feel sorrowful, remember:
• You’re not alone.
Through His death on the cross, Jesus made you ONE with God. Being ONE with God means you and God are in it together, and Jesus promised to never leave you nor forsake you . (John 17:11, Hebrews 13:5)
• Your flesh is weak, but God is all-powerful.
All things are possible for God. Though you feel weak emotionally, mentally, and/or physically, seek God. Prayer can happen, even when you only have the strength to fall on your face. (Mark 14:36)
• Jesus understands.
Jesus was a “man of sorrows, acquainted with grief” and He understands your sorrow. (Isaiah 53:3)
• You know the end of the story!
If you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, His death and resurrection changed your life forever! Jesus rose victorious over sin, death, and your deepest sorrows! Though you suffer for a season, you’ll know Heaven with Him where there is no crying and no more sorrow! In your current suffering, He is working to bring good out of it. (Revelation 21:4, Romans 8:28)
What to do when sorrow is pressing on your soul:
1. When sorrow presses on you, press in to Your Heavenly Father.
2. Pray with reverence for Him, honesty, humility, and a heart willing to surrender to His will.
3. Keep pressing in because prayer is a process. When sorrow runs deep, it takes a while to get to the bottom of it.
Prayer is a process of pressing in
to all-powerful God who strengthens us.
Together with Him, we press through
the sorrow to discover what is fruitful within us.
With Him, we press forward
for His glory and the salvation of souls.
Together with Him, we press through,
our eyes on the joy to come
When together with Jesus, we press on
to glory’s side—no more tears, no more sorrow!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I praise You for You are the source of joy, strength, and salvation. You are the lifter of my head. I come to You, I press into You, with a soul filled with sorrow. “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). Strengthen me through Your Spirit. Empower me to press through with thoughts, words, and actions which glorify You. In Jesus’ Victorious Name I pray, Amen.
*Verses are ESV.
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