Easter: The Cross Before and AfterSample

The Struggle is Real We all hate to struggle. We do our best to avoid it. For many of us, the ideal life probably looks something like sitting on a beautiful beach, relaxing, and watching the waves come in while the sun goes down: no stress, no worries, no struggles. Unfortunately, life isn't like that. We are fallen people, living with other fallen people, in a fallen world. Further, we are plagued by an enemy that seeks to "kill, steal, and destroy" (John 10:10). This is real life. The most significant struggle we will have as Christians is the struggle against the temptations to sin. This was even true for Jesus. The Bible says He was tempted in all the ways we are tempted, but He overcame and did not sin. We do not know a lot about most of His temptations, but we know about a few. Temptation clearly took place in the garden. On the night Jesus was to be betrayed, He spoke of how His soul was deeply grieved. Another way to say this is - Jesus was struggling. We need to know there is nothing sinful or wrong with struggling. Hebrews 12:4 indicates that we are supposed to struggle in our effort not to sin. “After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin (NLT)” or "You have not yet resisted the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin" is how the writer of Hebrews expresses the importance of struggling against temptation. The temptation was great, the weight of all Jesus was wrestling with inside the Garden was heavy, and we can learn from His response is how to respond when the struggle gets real. Jesus was facing a horrific set of circumstances. He was about to be betrayed, deserted, and abused. He was going to be tortured and killed in the most inhumane way imaginable. Jesus would experience the horror and weight of sin as He took the sins of the world upon Himself and experience temporary brokenness in communion with God, the Father. If there was ever a situation to try to avoid, this was it. Jesus knew how to respond to the temptation He faced. He knew the way to win the struggle was to pray. He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, asked His friends (three Disciples) to pray with Him, and got alone with God. He was honest with the struggle, honest with His feelings, but determined to be obedient to the will of God. Jesus gives us the best example of how to respond to the struggles of life. We admit the struggle, we solicit prayer support, we get honest with God about the issues and our desires, and we fight to surrender our will to the will of God. Jesus left the Garden in victory, obedience, and peace. We can't avoid struggles, but we can respond to them in such a way as to find victory, obedience, and peace. Pray, and ask God to help you find these things in your life today.