JULY 3 - Lonely at the Top
41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.
45 At last he stood up again and returned to the disciples, only to find them asleep, exhausted from grief. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation.”
Luke 22:41-46 ESV
It’s kinda sad, but Jesus’ last moments were very lonely even though he was surrounded by his disciples. He asked his disciples to pray with him in the mountaintop and they fell asleep. He was arrested alone, denied by his followers and eventually died next to two strangers.
He was so nervous, he began to sweat blood, which is an actual rare condition that can happen under extreme stress.
So the question is: What happens when our most difficult moments are our most loneliest?
Three things happened that helped Jesus get through the loneliness.
Jesus asked God to help him. “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.”
God helped him. “Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.”
Jesus prayed more intensely. “He prayed more fervently”
God never addressed his loneliness, but he did give him the strength to endure the moment. It has to be okay that we endure things by ourselves. Especially Godly assignments.
Let’s look for God in prayer, and trust that GOD WILL RESPOND. We have to know that God is a good father, he knows what we need more than we do.
Conclusion questions:
What’s influencing our loneliness?
Are we truly lonely or are we depending on others for distraction?