Are certain seasons or holidays in your life full of contradictions? They are for me. I love Christmas and Easter festivities, but often they are a mixture of great joy and profound sadness due to unmet expectations. My heart is often sorrowful when all our children and grandchildren aren’t here during the holidays. In these conflicting emotions, I must choose between focusing on the desires of my mamma’s heart or the purpose of the celebration—Jesus. Some years are easier than others. Regardless, the process is the same: choose to reflect on God’s love and choice to send Jesus, His only begotten Son. My perspective changes when I meditate on the miracle of God becoming flesh to live among us.
Jesus’ decision to become one of us began a continuum of action, ultimately leading to the choice, commitment, and completion at the cross. At any point, Jesus could have said this is too much, too hard, too painful, but He didn’t.
Jesus’ Obedience to the Cross
Even in His choice to be obedient, he was honest and vulnerable. He went to the Father and asked, “If you are willing, remove this cup from me,” then added, “yet not my will but yours be done.” By praying this prayer, Jesus modeled transparency and honesty for us. He went to His Father with a sincere desire to avoid the cruelty of the cross. Jesus understood the cross was the only way for us to receive forgiveness for our sins. He accepted the most arduous and painful path. Scripture says, “For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame.” Jesus showed us how to look beyond the raw emotional and physical pain to gain the prize. For Jesus, it was sitting at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). For us, it is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). God’s eternal purpose is that we are holy and blameless, which we can only obtain by faith in Christ. And faith is not our own; it is the free gift of God.
It is a gift of grace.
“Not My Will, But Yours Be Done”
We can choose to accept the gift or not, to follow the will of God or not. Sometimes the decision to follow Him feels too much, too hard, and too painful. Like Jesus, we can go to our Father and pour out our fears, trepidations, and desire for an easier road. But when we come to the same acceptance, “Not my will, but yours be done,” we find He has carved a path for us and shines His light to show us the way.
Everything He asks of us, He has provided.
- He tells us to love as He loved. We can only do this because He loved us first. (I John 4:19)
- He tells us to be faithful, but He is the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)
- He tells us it is better to serve than to be served. We learn by watching Him wash the disciples’ feet, including the one who would betray Him. (John 13:1-30)
God provides the very thing that He requires of us. It always goes back to our Father, who loved us and gave His son for us. When troubles come, He reminds us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Greater is He who is in us than in the world (1 John 4:4). He chose us, and we chose Him. It is a circle of choosing.
Whatever you experienced in 2022, Jesus was with you in the joy and the sorrow. Thank Him for the blessings and offer a sacrifice of praise for the disappointments. Choose to live in the light of Christ in this new year.
It is better to choose the light of His truth than the darkness of the world.
Blessings,
Personal Parables is the blog of Dyann Shepard. Get Dyann’s complementary study in Proverbs and prayer guide, What to Do When You Don’t Feel Good Enough. If you need encouragement to remember the truth about yourself in times of doubt and anxiety, this free 5-day study is for you. Follow Dyann and Personal Parables on Instagram and Facebook. Dyann is available for speaking, guest blogging, and article writing.
Personal Parables Practices
- Will you choose to follow the light of Jesus this year?
- What specific choices will you make to keep Jesus the center of your life?
- Who can you encourage to join you in following Jesus in a new and fresh way?
Prayer for the Coming Year
This is the year you have made Lord. I choose to be glad and rejoice in it. I choose to rejoice in You, my light, my provision and my salvation. Amen.
Scripture for Meditation
Mark 14:32-36 – And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
1 John 4:19 – We love because He first loved us.
Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Music for Reflection
