By Pastor Jack Marbida
Sometimes, everybody is tired of the things that are going on around them. What, with the pandemic looming just around the corner, you are worried of getting infected all the time. Some people are getting restless in their homes. Many employees have lost their jobs are a lot more are on worried because the economy is on the line. The future looks blurry to a lot of individuals.
SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 26:36-45
“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.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.”
Matthew 26 talks about the last supper and how Jesus was captured in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus chose three of His disciples to accompany Him to pray, Peter, James and John. But the three could not even stay awake; even for an hour.
Who among you wants to be in control? Of you life, of your husband or wife, of your children, of your friends, and of everything else? Everybody wants to be in control. But Pastor Peter Tan-Chi once said, “If you try to control everything, it’s a recipe for disappointment.” You will be in a season of frustration if you do that. Just like nowadays, when you have to obey everything that the government dictates, you have no control. Everything is online. Summer is here. But everything is on hold. Hope is sometimes lost because control is out of reach. This is called the Illusion of Control - the cognitive bias that leads you to believe that you have control over outcome when you really do not. The more you control something, the more scared you become to lose control over it. And the more you are scared to lose control over something, the more you try to control it.
When life seems out of control, PRAY. What did Jesus do? He prayed. He felt and he knew that He was going to be betrayed already. So He went to the Father and prayed. When the pandemic is getting the best of you, pray.
SURRENDER. This is such a powerful word. When you surrender in a war, you have lost the battle. But when you surrender to God, you have already won the fight. Surrender all your problems to God. You have no power to control anything. But you have the power to surrender everything to God.
TRUST. Jesus trusted the Father with His life. Jesus said, “Let your will be done.” That is faith. Many people think they can do everything themselves. But you know that nothing happens if God does not will it.
Pray. Surrender. Trust. It is a daily choice.
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