Luke 22:42, New Living Translation

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Faith is a word and a topic that is addressed in many places in the Bible. In the New Testament there are well over three hundred instances in which faith is addressed. I am sure that many Christians would be familiar with many of these references, including the verse for today’s topic. Yet, even with all of this teaching, I so often still encounter situations in which we as humans fail to truly understand what genuine faith is.

What I have noticed is that, often when Christians bring up the topic of faith, myself included, it is in the context of a trial or challenge that the person is going through. Perhaps the person is facing a serious illness, the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, a relationship issue, or a financial hardship. Many times, in these situations we hear statements made about how we should have faith, and if we maintain our faith, then everything will work out and be ok. I don’t know how many times I have seen a situation in which someone was seriously ill and heard the words, “If you just have enough faith then you will be healed.” So often when faith is spoken of, it is attached to an expected or desired outcome such as, I want to see healing take place, I want to be out of debt, I want my marriage to be restored, or I want my kids to be ok. I however would suggest that we take a step back to reevaluate what faith truly is.

I believe that the truest and purest of faith is not attached to a specific desired outcome. We can see this modeled in the life of Christ on so many occasions. The most well known likely being what took place in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus knew what was about to take place. He knew the suffering He would need to endure and the price that He was about to pay. We can see that He did not desire to endure what was going to happen, but it is undeniable that He desired to obey His Father more. When Jesus said to His Father in Luke 22:42, “Yet not my will, but yours be done,” he showed us what true faith in action looks like. He laid His own desire down, knowing that what His Father was going to do was the best. If you are facing a difficult situation today, I invite you to pray along with me….

Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus. Lord, You know our hearts, You know the desires that we have, You know the situations that we face. But Father, today we make the decision to put our faith in You. We make the decision to believe that whatever it is that You have planned the Lord is better than anything we can ask or think. So Father, we ask that Your will be done. We submit to Your plan and to Your desires for us, and no matter what we may see or experience, we will give You the glory and honor and praise. May You be glorified! In Jesus' name we pray, Amen!