Matthew 26: 36, 39
“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane… He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”
According to Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of “relinquish” is the following: “to voluntarily cease to keep or claim; to give up.” If ever there was a time when we had to give up things and voluntarily cease a host of activities, the two years the pandemic impacted us were the time! The devastating virus necessitated changes, some minor and others major. We came to recognize our inability to control things. Some had to relinquish being able to check on loved ones, to care for those very sick, or to visit the infirm, leaving them in the care of the Great Physician. The events of those years and the resulting circumstances were truly out of our hands, and some experts in human behavior predict that our lives will never be the same.
Best-selling author, the late Catherine Marshall, recounts her own experience of reaching this point as she shares her “prayer of relinquishment” in her book, Beyond Ourselves. She describes her story of healing that came after suffering from a lung disease that required two years of complete bed rest. We thought being isolated on and off in our homes for two years was a challenge; can you imagine being in bed for two years? She relates her journey here:
“One afternoon, I read the story of a missionary who had been an invalid for eight years. Constantly, she had prayed that God would make her well so that she might do His work. Finally, worn out with her futile petition, she prayed, ‘All right. I give up. If you want me to be an invalid, that’s your business. Anyway, I want You even more than I want health. You decide.’ In two weeks, the woman was out of bed, completely well.” Catherine continues: “This made no sense, yet the story would not leave me. On the morning of September 14—how can I ever forget the date?—I came to the same point of abject acceptance. ‘I’m tired of asking, was the burden of my prayer. I’m beaten. God, you decide what you want for me.’ Tears flowed…and the result? It was as if I had touched a button that opened windows in heaven; as if some dynamo of heavenly power began flowing. Within a few hours, I had experienced the presence of the Living Christ in a way that wiped away doubt and revolutionized my life. From that moment, my recovery began.”
Jesus experienced that same heavenly power as He prayed to His Father the night before His crucifixion. In His humanness were His pleas to God prayed out of weakness and fear? Were they out of the pain in imagining what lay ahead? He was fully human but also fully God. Jesus was mindful of taking upon Himself the penalty for billions of sinful souls, but even more, His heart was broken at the thought of being separated from His Father. In those moments of anguish, He prayed a “prayer of relinquishment”—“not as I will, but as You will.” Jesus did not pray for the cup to pass from Him; rather, He prayed for the grace to drink it.
The last nine months have been challenging for me as I deal with chronic neck pain, an affliction that has been unrelenting and that no earthly doctor or medicine has offered much relief. Although I believe in the power of the Great Physician to heal me, and trust unwaveringly in God’s sovereignty, I continue to wait and pray, “Not as I will, but as You will.”
Father in Heaven, some are suffering with afflictions like me and are struggling with the thought of surrendering totally to Your perfect will and timing. Help us to be like Jesus, Who relinquished His will for Yours.
• He chose the cup.
• He chose the nails.
• He chose the cross.
• He chose us.
We humbly thank you, Lord, for giving your Son, Jesus, so that we can have a relationship with You and the grace to drink from Your cup. We offer our prayer of surrender to You, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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