Day 07: When Life Gets Dark

Posted by: Nellie
If it's not been made clear already, let's get this straight: following Jesus doesn't equal a perfect life. 

Hear it again... it doesn't equal a perfect life.

In Sunday School today we talked about fear. We talked about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). Jesus faced something he didn't want to face. He told God, "I don't want to do this". We talk about Jesus dying so much that we make it seem like it's weird that Jesus wouldn't want to do it. But He didn't. He longed for God to make it change. For another way. "Why does it have to be like this? Isn't there another way". Yet in the fear, and in the darkness, Jesus put His trust in the Father, and followed.

Sometimes we think it's God's job to give us everything we want. That God will make things good, and happy, and easy. I'm not sure where we get that from, because the people who did God's will in the Bible went through some horrible times.

3 things come into my head:

1) Following Jesus DOES NOT equal a perfect life. (Get it yet?)

2) We don't have to pretend everything's ok. God can handle our anger, our frustration, our confusion. God can handle our darkness.

3) Prayer isn't about getting what we want. It's learning to trust God, and follow, even when it's not what we want.