God's Will


By Tyler Darnell, Nebraska Synod Evangelist

Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.  - Mark 14:36



Jesus is afraid. He knows his torture and death is coming shortly. He is so agitated that he sends his disciples away—even those closest to him. And he is not quiet about it. Jesus does not pray “Father, for you all things are possible; this is just fine.” He pleads that he might be spared.

Jesus knows what will happen next. And Jesus fully trusts in God and submits to His will. We, too, know what happens next. Jesus is hung from a cross. His obedience leads him to a torturous death and to a glorious resurrection.

I know very well how to feel afraid. I can relate to Jesus in Gethsemane pacing with anxiety, sending away friends, and praying desperately for relief from the feeling and its cause.

But I’m less able to relate to Jesus’ obedience. I have sometimes found it much easier to just avoid the issue. I can be quite skilled at finding someone else to blame for my problems.

Just as Jesus stared down the cross in fear, we are all staring at a pandemic—COVID-19. And I, for one, am afraid.

Many here in the United States have turned that fear into anger. And, knowing the virus was first discovered in Wuhan, China, some have directed that anger and blame at people from China.

A friend of mine saw someone spit on an Asian woman at a busy downtown intersection in Chicago. A 19-year-old stabbed an Asian family in a Texas grocery store assuming that they were Chinese. There are many, many more stories like these.

It might be tempting to write this off as a few people acting out. But we can’t. The teenager didn’t attack a family at random. He undoubtedly heard from many different people in many different ways that this was the fault of Chinese people—and that they deserve to be punished for it. He received this message clearly and he acted on it.

We must learn from Jesus’ example. He felt and expressed his fear and anxiety. He then committed himself to obedience to God’s will.

It is God’s will that we work to heal the sick, to welcome the stranger, and to care for our neighbor. It is contrary to these commands to respond to this pandemic with prejudice.

Like Jesus, our obedience will mean confronting fear, pain, and trial. But we must also trust that our obedience will lead us to a time of resurrection.

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