Like a superhero’s cape, it hangs in my closet, ready to serve whenever I need it.
My trusty, classy sweater makes everything better.
My favorite black cardigan is more than a piece of apparel. It’s cozy, classy, magical.
I wear it to keep warm, hide my arms, and sometimes to dress up an otherwise casual tank top or sleeveless dress for work or special events. It flexes with my fitness level, and at every weight, I’ve found it to be quite slimming. Like I said, magical.
One of my fashion-forward coworkers even complimented me once on the button details on the sleeves. Well, that sealed the deal. This would be a sweater I’d cherish forever. And I have. There are students in the youth group younger than my cardigan.
Please don’t look too closely, though, because my cardigan is literally falling apart.
I can’t hold up my arms, or you’ll see flesh through the threadbare elbows.
The buttons that my coworker complimented? They’re looking more and more tarnished these days.
I haven’t been able to carry anything in the right-side pocket for quite some time because if I did, it’d fall through the giant hole at the seam.
The hole in the right pocket is now 3 fingers wide—and yet this sweater STILL really classes up these sweatpants. I’m telling you…magical.
This sweater looks good from a distance, but if you look too closely, it’s actually a real mess.
Keeping the Mess Hidden
Sometimes, I think this sweater is a very good representation of me. I’m skilled at putting up a good front and pretending I’ve got it together, even as I’m completely unraveling. Everything is falling apart.
Can you relate?
If you’re like me, it often feels easier to keep the mess hidden.
Maybe you’re embarrassed.
Maybe you think others will judge you.
Maybe you think others have bigger problems than you do, and you have no right to complain.
Maybe the thought of talking to someone sounds completely exhausting.
Or maybe you actually have tried to be real with other people, and they simply didn’t listen.
Or maybe they tried to listen and be supportive, but they just don’t get it.
Here’s the thing.
No matter what you’re facing, no matter what you feel:
God sees.
God knows.
He understands, and He wants you to invite Him into the mess.
The Most Grueling Night
In Luke 22, we read about one of, if not the most grueling nights of Jesus’ life. In that passage, we learn how on the night before he was betrayed, arrested, beaten and murdered, Jesus turned to God in prayer.
He knew exactly what was about to happen to Him, and yet He didn’t run. He didn’t fight. He got on His knees, and invited His Heavenly Father into the mess.
Luke 22:39-45:
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
Luke, the author of this book, who also just-so-happened to be a doctor, included an incredible detail in this passage.
Jesus was in such anguish that night that He experienced a medical phenomenon: sweating drops of blood. In modern terms, this is known as “hematidrosis,” a rare medical condition that can cause small amounts of blood to appear in the sweat. It occurs when capillaries in the sweat glands rupture, usually due to extreme stress or anxiety or intense physical exertion.
Meanwhile, His most faithful friends were sawing logs just around the corner. Granted, as Luke points out, they were exhausted from sorrow. Regardless, when Jesus was in His darkest hour, there was no one to walk beside Him.
No one, that is, except His Father.
3 Lessons from Jesus’ Prayer
What can we learn from Jesus’ prayer in the garden? I believe there are at least three things worth noting and applying to our context.
1. Jesus withdrew. When Jesus needed to spend time with God, He withdrew to a private place. He removed the distractions. He changed His location and His posture. He separated Himself from all the noise so that He could speak and listen without interference.
If you long for deep and meaningful time with God, it won’t happen by accident. We live in a busy, noisy world, and you’ll have to fight to find the time and space to get real with Him. Quiet and solitude don’t come easy.
There are a number of ways that might happen, and you’ll have to figure out what works best for you. Here are a few ideas to get you started…
Wake up early to take a walk, and talk with God along the way.
Dedicate a part of your daily commute to prayer. Turn off the music and simply speak and listen to God.
Write out your prayers. Our minds are less likely to wander when we’re putting pen to paper.
Close the door and kneel beside your bed before you go to sleep. There’s something about changing your posture that creates focus.
Walk away from your phone and any other electronics for 10 minutes every day to just “be” with God. Challenge yourself to increase the time by a minute every day.
I can’t tell you what will work best for you, and I can’t pretend it will be easy to shut off the noise. At first, it may be awkward, but it will be worth it in the end.
And when you simply can’t escape the noise, pray anyway! I try to make it a habit of whispering short prayers throughout my day, regardless of where I’m at, especially when something’s troubling me. It can be a quick and simple reset, like taking a deep breath and whispering, “Jesus help me.”
2. Jesus was honest. Jesus didn’t say, “Everything’s good, Dad. I got this! You can count on me. I can do hard things.”
No! He spoke exactly what He was thinking. “Father, if you’re willing, take this cup from me.
In other words, Jesus vocalized His struggle, admitting that He would much prefer a different, less painful path.
I remember one particularly hard day when I was driving to the hospital to see my dad. One of my kids was also struggling, and I was overwhelmed by a number of pressures in my personal and professional life. I was sad, exhausted, and completely ticked. None of it seemed fair.
So I prayed in my car. And you want to know what I prayed?
I was repeatedly pounding on my steering wheel, while screaming and shouting at the top of my lungs: “It’s too much! It’s too much! I can’t do this. I can’t. It’s too much!”
If anyone drove past me, they almost certainly thought I was a maniac – but it was prayer, real, true, honest-to-goodness prayer. God heard me and met me right there when I needed Him the most. My car was holy ground.
3. Jesus surrendered. In His darkest hour, Jesus asked God to take away the cup of suffering. Then He said, “Yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Jesus openly declared what He wanted, then He accepted what He knew was needed. He asked for God’s will to be done.
God doesn’t always answer our prayers exactly how we want Him to. Occasionally, I’ve seen miracles in response to my prayers, incredibly wondrous things that can’t be explained as anything less than divine. More often, I’ve had to trust that He knows what is best, and that He will answer my prayers in His own time and in His own way.
God is good, all the time, and He lavishly pours out His love upon us at all times. Even when we can’t see it.
He walks beside you, and He will carry you when you need Him.
It starts by learning to pray like Jesus.
Jesus withdrew.
Jesus was honest.
Jesus surrendered to God’s will.
God wants to be in the middle of your mess. Will you invite Him in?