Text: Mark 14:32-36
And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.

God gives you MORE than you can handle!
Nope, that's not a typo.

Yes, it's quite the opposite of the Christian cliché you've heard all your life. God told Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, as he cried out for relief from adversity, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” Paul then tells us how that happens. He writes, "For when I am weak, then I am strong." The Passion version translates the phrase, "For my weakness becomes a portal to God’s power."

Nothing we will ever face can in any way compare to what Jesus went through in the Garden of Gethsemane as He faced the cup of God's wrath against sin and the contemplation of being forsaken by His Father. But you can take comfort as you struggle because Jesus knows what you are going through! He sympathizes with you in your frailty (Hebrews 4:15)!  In the garden, "Jesus is shown to be anything but above temptation. So far from sailing serenely through His trials like some superior being unconcerned with this world, He is almost dead with distress" (Moule, Gospel of Mark). But He submitted Himself to God's will (the ultimate display of God's unstoppable power!). Even as He cried out in anguish, He prayed, "Yet not what I will, but what You will” (verse 36). 

Today, many of us find ourselves distressed over COVID-19. Maybe fear of contracting this virus is overwhelming your mind. Some of you are not overly concerned about contracted the virus but you're fretting the future and the financial impact this will have or is already having on your family.  Maybe you're feeling the stress of information overload. Some of you are not dealing well with the lack of control you think you usually have over your life.

How can your weakness (humanness) become a portal to God's power? How can you experience joy and contentment, even in the worst of times?
Jesus!!
You might be thinking right now, "Okay John, I thought we started this email by eliminating Christian clichés? Why are you giving me another? Just tell me what to do!"

Yes, "Jesus" can be just another Christian cliché if you are keeping Him at a comfortable distance or treating Him like a concept or a religion. But Jesus is a person and we must cultivate a personal relationship with Him!

Let today be a step on your journey to know and follow Jesus wholeheartedly!

• Look to Jesus
• Cry out to Jesus
• Cast your cares on Jesus
• Cling to Jesus
• See Jesus in Scripture
• Let Jesus be your daily bread
• Pray in Jesus' name
• Seek help from the Body of Jesus (His church)
• Kill sin in the name of Jesus

Relationships take effort. They don't just happen.

Your weakness will become a portal to God's power as your life is more and more about Jesus!