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By Mike Caton

John 12:27, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”

Jesus said his soul is troubled, can you imagine that? He has just spoken about his upcoming death, and Jesus knows what in all that will entail. Can you imagine facing your own execution, what would be going through your mind? And what if you knew you were innocent? And what if you knew it would be prolonged, agonizing, and designed to produce the most suffering possible. And what if you were dying for someone else, and you knew they didn’t and wouldn’t appreciate it? I’m pretty sure my soul would be troubled, to say the least.

And yet, Jesus is not seeking a way out, he knows this was the very reason he came to earth. Make no mistake, Jesus has a hard task ahead of him, maybe we forget Jesus was fully human as well as fully God. The human part was no doubt dreading what was ahead; the betrayal, the denials, the abuse, the humiliation, the pain and suffering. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, and as he prayed there his sweat rolled off like drops of blood. Jesus was not exerting himself physically, but the emotional toll there was great.

Are we, you and I, that committed to the Lord and his will? Are we willing to go to that extreme, simply because it is what God wants from us? Are we that attached to God and his plan, his will in our lives? Are we that engaged, that connected to God that we will say, as Jesus did in the garden, not my will but yours be done? Following God is go for broke decision, there is no partial commitment.

Father, help me be all in for you. In Jesus; name, amen.

Mike Caton is the preacher at Mount Olive Church of Christ in Belhaven. He volunteers at the Ponzer Fire Department and works part time with Hyde County EMS. If you would like to receive daily devotions in your inbox, email mikecaton@centurylink.net.

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