In Luke 22:39-42 (Ampl) we find Jesus and His disciples at the Mount of Olives. The scripture says, “And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation. And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw away and knelt down and prayed.”(emphasis mine)
I don’t know about you, but I certainly have not been as disciplined as I should be these days! Way too much baking and “special treats” (as if adding the word “special” reduces the calories… lol!). We’ve all heard the term ‘muscle memory’, well I have a feeling that not only does fat have memory, but it brings friends with great memories too!
My lack of discipline in this area is obviously no comparison to what Jesus was going through as He prepared for the events to come. The time when He would be crucified on a cross for the sins of all humanity. There is a principle I need to you see in this passage.
This was by far one of the lowest moments in Jesus’ life when He came face to face with what was about to take place. Luke 22:44 goes on to say, “And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping own upon the ground.”
I would like to point out that at this very moment, in the very next verse (verse 45), He comes back to find the disciples “sleeping from grief”.
Hmmm… does this sound familiar? As we deal with the situation in our world at the moment, if we’re not careful, we could find ourselves “entering into temptation” and “sleeping from grief” in various areas of our lives.
That temptation can be very different for each one of us. For some perhaps it’s spending too much time on Facebook comparing yourself to others. As that becomes your focus, a negative competitive spirit may begin to rise up and dominate your thinking.
Or simply by allowing ourselves to be so overwhelmed with the current circumstances or fear of the future that we are overtaken with grief, which in essence is a form of depression.
We need to remember to follow Jesus’ example and decide to be disciplined. Even in the midst of His situation, the first thing Jesus did “…as was His habit”, was to spend time with His Heavenly Father in prayer. First… not second or third after he got the opinion of His friends. Some of us need to go back to the basics of discipline in this time of waiting. Doing the things we know to do. Building better habits that yield us more excellent fruit. Spending time with the Lord in prayer, having self-control over our tongues (both in eating and speaking)!
Bottom-line is many of us have chosen ‘comfort over calling’ more consistently than ‘calling over comfort’, and this has brought us fruit that isn’t always aligned with God’s Word or His purpose. It’s time to get back in right alignment with God and His incredible vision for our lives. Let’s choose to be the disciplined disciples He created us to be. Are you in?