Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him... John 18:4
He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be filled with horror and deep distress. He told them, 'My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.' Mark 14:33, 34.
He then prayed that God would not let it happen.
He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 'Abba, Father,' he said, 'everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.' Mark 14:35, 36
In fact, in Mark 14:35; 36; 39; 41 He asked God numerous times, but God's perfect plan is for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus thankfully obeyed His Father.
Because Jesus knew what was in store for Him and because He was God as man, Jesus (like us) had a desire to follow His flesh. We are pulled to self preservation or give in to feel good. We experience this constantly and in all those instances, we experience the temptation that Jesus did. We have been called to experience, follow, live, be, do as Christ did. We have been called to resist the temptation as Christ did. Christ resisted fleshly, self preserving desires and we should resist them as well.
When tempted, God is there with us as indicated in 1 Corinthians.
But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
In this verse, there is no indication that it will be easy. But, God is faithful; he will give you a way out or help you endure through the temptation.
If we are to be like Jesus and if we are to resist temptation like Jesus did, are we resisting temptation with the intensity that Jesus did?
He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. Luke 22:44
Are we sweating blood as Jesus did? Aren't we to be like Jesus who was in the flesh as we are?
Does this seem too extreme? Does this seem too fanatical? How serious have your situations been in the past? How serious do they have to be? To truly desire God's will, to want His will for our lives 100% is to desire it to that larger degree. We don't have to sweat blood in all prayers and petitions. But, how many times have we given up right when it got the toughest? What if Jesus had given up right when things were the hardest? During these dark nights of the soul, I believe God empowers us as He empowered Jesus.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1: 7
2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. 3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. 10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. 11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1: 2-11
7 ... though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. 8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15: 3-5
However, we have to want it first. Then, just get started. Too often, though; I believe we give up too soon. On the threshold of fulfilling God's will, we give up. What if we pursue it so fiercely that we sweat blood? What does this mean? It means we truly desire and want God's will regardless of anything.
