When God Says …
“And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:43-44 KJV).
Continuing on the unfolding events in these last moments of our Lord’s communion with the Father in earnest prayers, these passages mark the Garden of Gethsemane as the beginning of our Lord’s intense physical and spiritual crushing for humanity’s sake. This is extremely and aptly painful, with Gethsemane as the spot which in Hebrew means "oil press." Just as olives are crushed to produce pure oil, our Lord Jesus underwent deep anguish and pressure. Here, He is experiencing hematidrosis—a rare medical condition where extreme stress causes capillaries to rupture, mixing sweat with blood as He perspires.
The Lord’s agony was driven by the anticipation of drinking the spiritual cup of suffering for all the sins, curses, and filth of the world. This meant Him experiencing temporary spiritual separation from His beloved Father.
When our Lord reached His breaking point and prayed in deep sorrow, God dispatched an angel from heaven to strengthen Him. The angel's appearance empowered Him with supernatural provision of grace, peace, and endurance from heaven to rise up and resolutely finish His assignment at the cross.
Hence, when you and I, as well as every believer, totally yield to grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we are confronted with overwhelming, dark hours of pressure and trials, we’re not alone. God similarly dispatches angels to help and pour out grace for grace to sustain us through all of our agonizing travails. This is assured by His words, as it is written: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” (Psalm 91:11 ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC.
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment