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Showing posts with label Presence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Presence. Show all posts
Do you have any Garden Friends? I understand this term may be somewhat unfamiliar to many of you as it was to me.
Before I met a man named Tiger Mcluen eight years ago at a conference for Youth Ministers, the phrase "Garden Friend" was not in my vocabulary. In fact, when he suggested that I needed to have garden friends, I was confused. Why would I need to have friends to garden with?
Now I had been told many by people that I needed a hobby or interests outside of ministry, but gardening with other guys seemed to be a stretch, even from a man named Tiger.
But over the past eight years I have come to understand and believe that I need garden friends. My family needs to me to have garden friends. My ministry needs me to have garden friends.
Mathew 26:36-40 says, "Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, 'Sit here while I go over there and pray.' He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.'”
It was the final hours of Christ’s Life, just moments before he was to be arrested, tried, beaten, abandoned, and crucified; where He would bear the full extent of all sin, absorb the complete scope of God’s wrath, being fully separated for the first and only time from His Father, where he would experience death.
It’s no wonder He couldn't sleep. So, as was His custom, Jesus went for a walk in cool night air - to one of His favorite places, the Garden of Gethsemane. He went there to spend His last hours in prayer. But he didn't go alone. He took his friends, those whom he had taught, lived with, and invested in for three years. On reaching the place, He asked eight of them to remain and join him prayer.
Then, He gently invited three of his closest friends to walk a little further with him. As they stepped on dew covered ground, Jesus let his guard down and laid bare His soul, His struggles, and His burdens.
“Began to be sorrowful and troubled” the scripture says. Jesus didn't try to be strong, or act as if nothing was wrong: for it was. Christ was facing sin, separation, and death. He shared His deepest fear and struggles. He wasn't filled with pride, worrying about what they may think of him. No. Jesus needed support. He needed His friends.
Christ in full transparency turned to these men and said “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” Jesus, the one who spoke and Lazarus was raised, spit in mud and blind men saw, this Messiah’s soul was burdened and filled with despair. He could not take it any more.
Turning, He asks His closest and most trusted friends to shoulder this burden with Him and join Him in prayer. Jesus had Garden Friends. Men whom he trusted. Men whom he cared for deeply, friends who shared the same for Him.
Companions, whom He did not need to put on a mask for, or pretend to be strong. Friends who he trusted to share the deepest and hardest struggle His, or any, soul had ever faced.
Friends who gladly walked with Him, didn't judge or try to offer false assurances that things were fine. Friends who (although failed) were willing to shoulder these burdens with Christ — with their presence and in Prayer.
In his time of need Jesus, God’s own Son, needed these garden friends.
And I do too. In fact, every one of us does. We need friends who are willing to walk into the garden with us. The garden so often covered in darkness and muted with despair.
Friends who will listen, who can share our soul's hurts, struggles, and burdens with.
Friends who are not interested in judging, gossiping, or even offering a quick Bible verse to cover up the ache.
Friends who will not abandon us because we open up.
Friends who will support us with their presence and with their prayer.
Over the last eight years I have come to see how garden friends are something I need. Men who listen, counsel, and correct me. Who celebrate my achievements and mourn my failures. Love me when I am unlovable. Support me in prayer, shoulder my burdens, to laugh together, and share my tears. I need my garden friends and they need me. Like the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:12 that we may be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”
Who are your garden friends, those whom you can share life's joys and struggles with? Perhaps it’s time for another walk in the garden with them today.
I pray that God will provide you with godly friends to share life's ups and downs.
Labels: Alone, Burden, Death, Depressed, Despair, Encouragement, Fear, Friendship, Garden Friends, Gethsemane, Hurt, Jesus, Joy, Matthew 26:36-40, Prayer, Presence, Romans 1:12, Soul, Struggle, Trust
For many this year, the thought of a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year seems more like a wish than a reality. Unemployment, broken homes, or the empty seat at the table are only a few struggles which seem to suck the joy and hope out of the season. During these dry times, God seems very far away.
Joseph experienced similar feelings, for his beloved, the one he was pledged to was now pregnant, and not by him. This news must have crushed this honorable man. He had served God his entire life, and now the one whom he loved had betrayed him. Who would have blamed Joseph for questioning God’s presence? In the midst of this cloud of darkness, God spoke.
The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us. (Matthew 1:23)
He assured Joseph that Mary was pure and the Child within her was Messiah. In fact, He assured Joseph of His presence by the very name of the Child, Immanuel, God with us. God with him. The Messiah’s very name, Immanuel, is present tense. God was with Joseph even through this dark and difficult time.
This promise is for you too. Not just for this season, but every day. This is not a promise of His presence in the past, or something to look for in the future, but God is present right now. With you, wherever you are, wherever you find yourself, the presence of Christ is near. You are not alone. The promise of Christmas is the Presence of Christ. He will never leave you or forsake you, but He is always nearby your side. Whether you gather with others, or are alone this season, let the reality of Immanuel, God with you, bring comfort, hope and peace.
I still remember the feeling of fear and loneliness I had one afternoon as a boy in grade school. For some reason the bus reached my home quicker than usual that afternoon. As I walked down the driveway and into the house, I was shocked to find it dark and empty. My father was still at work, like normal, but my mom, who was always home, was nowhere to be found. In a matter of a few short minutes, I made a quick, yet thorough, check of every room in our modest ranch-style home. Even checking the scary basement and garage. No one was home.
Feelings of fear, loneliness, and despair set in fast, followed by plenty of irrational thoughts only a child was capable of. There was only one choice. Lay down on the couch and try to sleep. Maybe, just maybe when I awoke someone would be home.
What seemed much like an eternity (actually only a few minuets) my mother’s car came whipping in the driveway, and my fears and feelings were finally put to rest.
Nevertheless, it took years for me to fully recover from the incident. After that, every morning, right before I would head out the screen door to wait for the school bus, I asked my mother the same question. “Mom are you sure you’ll be home when I come home?” and she would answer each morning without delay “Yes Eric, I will.” Every day when I stepped off the bus her car was in the driveway - and she was waiting for me in our home.
Each one of us has times in our lives where we are lonely. Times where we feel like we are all alone. However, its during these darkened times in our lives where Christ’s Words in Matthew 28:20 bring great comfort. “And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Always! No matter where we are, no matter what we are going through, He is there with us. There is no place too near or far, for Christ’s presence; or time too early or late for Christ. He is there; even to the end for the age!
Next time you feel all alone, grab on to and take comfort in Christ’s last words and promise: He Is With You!
Thank you Jesus for never leaving me, no matter where I go, or how dark life seems. You are there. Let me find comfort in your presence no matter what tomorrow holds.
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