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This week we continue our discussion of chapter 22 of Luke’s Gospel. Please read verses 41-53 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 22:44-46 (NIV)
‘And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”’
During my various travels around the world, it’s always interesting to see the differences between the UK and other countries. Some things are very different such as driving on the wrong side of the road! Also, it’s always a challenge to get to grips with the various forms of currency and the exchange rates. Someone I know recently gave a tip to a hotel ‘bell-boy’ that equated to a few weeks wages!
Not all the differences are massive and some are really quite subtle. If you are from the UK and you’re a driver then I’m sure you’ll be aware of the upside down white triangle with a red border. No? What about if I add the words ‘Give Way’? Of course, it’s a sign to say that when you come to this sign you are to proceed with caution and be prepared to stop if cars are approaching on the road you’re about to join. In other English-speaking countries like Ireland and the USA, this sign doesn’t have the words ‘Give Way’ written on it. Instead, it has the word ‘Yield’.
This is an older English word that seems to have been dropped from modern usage, but in some cases, such as the road signs, it is still in common use. Its meaning is exactly what Jesus is saying to His disciples at the end of our verse “Do not fall into temptation”. Do not ‘yield’ to temptation. Think about that road sign again for a minute. Imagine that you’re coming up to a junction to a main road and you see the ‘Yield’ sign. You’re aware that there is traffic on the main road, but you don’t know if it’s going to be coming your way at the precise time that you’re joining the road. So you cautiously ‘yield’ to the traffic and make your way slowly onto the road.
We have just celebrated another Easter and have rejoiced in the victory that Christ has won for us on the cross. I think that too many times, we as Christians make our way slowly along life’s path always ‘yielding’ to the traffic that comes our way. Jesus says that all authority has been given to us because of His death and Resurrection. There is now no legal spiritual reason why we have to yield to any of life’s traffic or temptation. We have authority over it. So very often, we can be too cautious, afraid of what may come our way.
Jeremiah 29:11 is probably overused, but the truth of the words are applicable, He knows the plans for us. The road that we’re on is being overseen by Almighty God and so we have ‘right of way’ when we stay on the path on which He’s instructed us to walk. We don’t need to be afraid. We don’t need to be timid and we certainly don’t need to yield to temptation. The circumstances of life are probably not going to change, and so we don’t necessarily need to pray for that. But we should pray that we don’t yield to anything that the devil throws our way. Let’s not give way to anything he puts in our path. Take authority over it and stand as children of the Living God. Give Way? No Way!
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