Apr 14: Weekly Reading- Jesus Prays in Gethsemane; The Surrendered & Insight Post by Kim Feld

  -   April 14, 2025

Surrendering to God’s Will: In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prays fervently for the cup of suffering to be taken from Him but ultimately surrenders to God’s will. His prayer shows that while it’s natural to seek relief from hardship, true obedience means trusting and submitting to God’s plan, even when it’s difficult.

Monday Verse

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. Romans 12:12 (NLT)

Monday Questions

In what areas of my life do I need to surrender my own will and trust in God’s plan? How can I pray for strength to accept His will?

Monday Insight Post
by Kim Feld

My heart is heavy as I read about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The depth of His surrender, the weight of His sacrifice, I can’t fathom the anguish He must have been feeling. Not only was He headed toward the torture of death by crucifixion, but He was also going to experience the weight of the sins of the world and separation from His Father. And yet, He surrendered His will for the will of God. If Jesus had not said yes, you and I would have no hope of eternity with God. His yes bridged the gap between humanity’s sin and God’s grace.

Take a look at this verse found in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV):

²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus modeled what complete surrender looks like for you and me. However, the surrender we see in Jesus came through His ultimate trust in His Father, built through the time Jesus spent in prayer and seeking God’s guidance. In Luke’s account of this week’s reading, he says that Jesus went “as usual” to the Mount of Olives. It seems that Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane often to pray. Other scriptures tell us that Jesus took regular opportunities to be alone with God (see Mark 6:46, Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12, Matthew 14:23, and Luke 9:18 for a few examples). These regular meetings with God built the foundation that allowed Jesus to say, “Not My will, but Yours.” Luke 22:42

This week gives us an opportunity to examine our prayer life. Do we look for regular opportunities to connect with God, or do we only pray when something in our lives is on fire? As a side note, have you ever had a friend you only hear from when something is wrong in their lives? How does that make you feel? Could it be that God feels the same way when we treat Him that way?

God wants us to trust Him with all that we are and have. Surrender is not always easy, but trust is a necessary component. Do we trust God to have our best in mind, even when our circumstances are undesirable? Trust is built over time and through experience. You will never regret the time spent building a relationship with God. He can be trusted.

Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach

New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org