In August 1995, lightning knocked out the power at a Miami radar center. For the next 84 minutes, air traffic controllers had to remember where airplanes had been on radar in order to help those planes land successfully. This was no easy task at a center that traced nearly 5,000 flights a day!
Federal Aviation Administration officials reconstructed the regional center’s blackout which delayed about 300 flights. Seventy planes headed for airports from Key West to Orlando were put on hold. Dozens of planes on their way to Florda were put in holding patterns and told to stay out of the area. Other planes were grounded. It was a mess!
We’ve all faced times in our lives when it seemed as though we were disconnected from the One who guides us. On those occasions we may feel as though our lives have been put on hold or sent in an undesirable direction. It would be easy to think Jesus felt that way in Gethsemane. Yet despite the agony He endured, the prayer of the Lord indicates that He knew He was in communication with His Father.
As Jesus entered the garden, he asked that Peter, James and John join him. The other disciples He left at the gate. How amazingly human! In this dark moment, Jesus wanted His three closest disciples to be nearby. The author of Hebrews indicates they were close enough to hear the Lord as he cried out to his father (Hebrews 5:7).
And how did Jesus pray? As He poured out his feelings to God, Jesus made no effort to hide His emotions. He told His father that his personal desire was not to drink the cup. And what did the cup contain? It surely contained all the suffering of the cross. It included his being nailed to the cross. The cup held the sins of the world and the punishment those sins deserved. It included his being separated from his father. In the light of all the cup contained, it’s no wonder that Jesus in His humanity didn’t want to drink it. But after making his feelings known three times, Jesus submitted to his father’s will.
In Gethsemane, we see Jesus struggling with the agony of the cross. There we hear him crying out to God. But when he got up from Gethsemane, He never looked back. Throughout the ordeal of the crucifixion, He stood tall. Jesus battled in prayer to prepare for the ordeal of the cross.
Prayer is the place for you to pour out your heart to the Lord. God wants you to do that. As you go to God in prayer, express your feelings to him. Try to take a step further and willingly submit to God. It may be that you’re facing something you’d like to avoid. Like Jesus, tell God your thoughts. Then ask for the grace you need to obey him even when you don’t feel like obeying. Such prayer and obedience not only reconnects us to God, it pleases him and shows others the difference a vibrant relationship with Christ can make in a person’s life.
The writer is the pastor at First Baptist Church, 309 E. North St., Sidney.
