Peace In Obedience
He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” — Mark 14:34–36, NLT
We all have an inner-child in us whether we admit it exists or not. We all have joy, love, and happiness that dwell within. Furthermore, we also are prone to emotional outburst, wants, and desires that at times seemingly have no rhyme or reason to them. Yes, as an adult, we are much better and able to control those things, but darnit, I still want the newest high-definition TV on sale even when my budget is constrained (my admitted weakness J).
As Christians, we know the tug-of-war between desire and obedience. We want relief from pain, vindication in conflict, opportunity that opens yesterday, and control that quiets our anxiety. We want vengeance against those who wronged us or acceptance that our ways or views are right. Naming those desires is not a sign of our lacking faith. In fact, Jesus named His. The key is that Jesus clearly understands the priority. He places His desire beneath God’s will.
In Christ, our surrender is not resignation. It is trust. Today’s verses tell us clearly that God is good, wise, and faithful. Thus, I will obey even when I don’t fully understand. That is a hard thing to grasp because that kind of surrender forces us to see a different view of our own humanity not focusing on our own desire. However, it does not flatten our humanity. Spiritually, it frees it. It shifts the center of gravity from our outcomes to God’s character and from our timetable to His purposes.
What does it look like in practice? First, we surrender with honest prayer. Jesus is vulnerable enough to admit His anguish, and He falls to the ground and asks if the cup might pass. We can bring God the unedited version of our hearts as ugly and undesirable it may seem because He already sees and loves us.
Second, our surrender is steadied by community. Jesus asks God to walk with Him. Obedience grows in the soil of shared prayer. In our struggles, inviting a trusted brother or sister to walk with us is not a sign of weak faith. It is a practice of wise faith. We are not meant to do our walk of faith alone just as Jesus did not go through Gethsemane alone.
Third, surrender flows from identity. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” If our Father has prepared the path, His will is not random. It is intentional, purposeful, and loving. This is the transformation Paul speaks of in Romans 12:2 leading us to change our ways of thinking. We become more mature slowly making our desires attuned to His heart, and obedience becomes less like battle and more like spiritual maturity.
Finally, surrendering reframes our values. Scripture says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5–6). In that light, obedience is not losing out on what we want. It is building upon in what lasts.
Obedience to God requires we trust in the path He lays out for us. In Gethsemane, Jesus shows us a better way. He invites trusted friends to “keep watch,” kneels honestly under the weight of sorrow, and then yields His wants to the Father’s wisdom. When we feel pressed between what we want and what God wills, the Garden becomes our classroom. Let us spend time slowing down, think about our wants and desires, then faithfully and earnestly go to God in prayer bringing our them up while submitting to do His will above our own. Where am I clinging to a preferred outcome instead of entrusting it to the Father who loves me? Who could experience God’s love this week if I choose obedience over preference in one concrete action? My prayer is that we keep watch with Jesus and echo His surrender in Gethsemane, trusting the Father’s will above our own wants and finding peace as we obey. Amen.