For this final Friday of Lent, we will use the writings of Rev. Trevor Hudson of South Africa, Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days (Upper Room Books, 2015).
"Lent -Day 39, Good Friday: GETHSEMANE"
Then Jesus went with (his disciples) to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” (Matthew 26:36)
We all have Gethsemane moments. Perhaps we find ourselves in a crisis of some sort or we wrestle with what God wants us to do or we face the diagnosis of a severe illness. Whatever these personal Gethsemanes may look like, they have a way of challenging our trust in God.
For Jesus, his time in the Garden of Gethsemane is a time of lonely prayer before his crucifixion. It is in Gethsemane that he surrenders his life to God. It is where he falls with his face to the ground and prays, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want” (Matt. 26:39).
May we allow our own Gethsemanes to become opportunities for us to renew our trust and confidence in God’s purpose for our lives.
Daily Practice
Before you go to sleep tonight, slowly make the sign of the cross over your body as an outward sign of your heart’s intention to make Jesus’ prayer of surrender your own in the midst of your Gethsemane moment. (Trevor Hudson, Pauses for Lent (Upper Room Books, 2015) p. 61.)
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