Knowing and doing the will of God is always the best path to follow. You can expect so much, knowing that you are in the center of God’s will for you. However, doing the will of God isn’t always easy.
If you’re facing this challenge, you’re not alone. Doing the will of God in your life might mean forgiving a wrong, avoiding a habit, or incorporating something new into your comfort zone. Whatever it may be, it can be frustrating, and you may struggle to do it, even when you know that you love God with all your heart.
Once upon a time, our Lord Jesus Himself, a perfect being, was in this situation at Gethsemane, hours before His crucifixion. He had to believe the Father to help Him do His will.
There is a lesson we can learn from Jesus’s experience at Gethsemane, and I hope that today, I can help you learn a thing or two about overcoming the struggle within you from there.
Jesus Always Knew God’s Will
It is one thing to know what God’s will is; it’s another thing to do it. Throughout His earthly walk, Jesus was constantly stating His purpose on earth and what He would have to suffer in order to fulfill it.
On the way to Jerusalem, He tells His disciples,
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
Matthew 20:18–19
His disciples probably wondered many times how Jesus could maintain so much calm knowing what kind of future awaited Him.
It is exciting to know that you’re going to do something God has shown you, and you are going to be blessed, and all of that. It provides great motivation. But it is very different from the reality when it comes.
He Couldn’t Do It by Himself
In his letter to the Romans, Paul shares a dilemma you and I are familiar with. He points at a desire, and a lack of the strength needed to execute that desire:
“For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.”
Romans 7:18
Jesus found Himself at this point, too, and He knew that if the Father did not help Him, He might not fulfill that mission about which He had been talking so passionately.
This is the real deal about obeying God—Jesus’s actions, obedience, and experience at Gethsemane are good models to follow when we find ourselves struggling with this as well.
What Can We Learn from Gethsemane?
Here are some of the things that helped Jesus go through His darkest hours starting from this garden of prayer, which can help you overcome the struggle to do God’s will in your life.
1. He separated Himself from the crowd.
“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed.”
Luke 22:41
2. He surrounded Himself with people who reminded Him of His assignment.
“And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.”
Mark 14:33
3. He poured out His fears through prayer.
“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.’”
Luke 22:41-42
4. He humbled Himself and was strengthened to do the Father’s will.
“An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.”
Luke 22:43
5. This helped Him become ready to face His passion
“Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.’”
John 18:8
Let me leave you with this truth: if you rely on strength or will alone, you will continue to struggle to do the will of God in your life. However, if, like our Master, Jesus, you open yourself up and humbly ask the Father to help you, you will see Him provide the strength you need and desire.
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
Philippians 2:13
Written like a dove.