How do you react when you face a serious challenge? Who do you reach out to when you are being overwhelmed? Where do you turn when the going gets tough? Do you have someone you can turn to when you need it?
We all go through tough times at varying points in our lives. There will be times of sorrow. We will face tough challenges. We all experience the loss of loved ones. Some of us will face being unceremoniously released from a job. Relationships are ended.
When we face those times of difficulty or challenge, we need someone we can trust to help us through them. We need a special family member, friend, counselor, and advocate. There is such a person we can trust at all times.
Jesus set the perfect example for us. When He was facing a false arrest, fake trial, mockery, being spit on, being flogged, and ultimately crucified; He went to the Father in prayer. He sought God’s assistance, but willingly submitted to God’s will. And because He submitted to God’s will, He gained the ultimate crown.
When facing difficulties, it is not easy to pray as Jesus did. It is not easy to ask God for what we desire, but say, “Your will be done.” But God promises to reward us for submitting to Him. He rewards us with more than we can imagine and far more than we deserve.
In addition to the long-term reward, God gives us the strength to overcome the difficulty we are facing. He provides a way for us to not only survive the challenge but become stronger from the experience. And it is all available to us when we trust Him and pray to Him.
I pray we all go to God in our times of difficulty. I pray we make our desires known but submit to God’s will. I pray each of us spend time in prayer with God daily, both preparing for tough time and during tough times. Trust God. Turn to God in difficult times. Make your desires known. Submit to God’s will. Know that God is always with you.
Matthew 26:36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
Marty Pressey 