32 They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. 34 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
35 He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 “Abba, Father,”[a] he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Mark 14:32-36 NLT
***
For years during my quiet time, I imagined a clearing in the woods full of sunlight, with a big rock in the center. That’s where I met Jesus. Sometimes I was a little girl-me with pigtails, running to Jesus; He met me and joyfully lifted me and swung me around. Sometimes I was adult-me; sitting quietly at His feet talking, just being with Him. It was my safe, happy place.
In August, 2003, an exploratory finger in my mouth confirmed my cancer was back for the third time. I was devastated. How could I go through this horrible thing again? Was this the beginning of the end? I began to despair.
Then I had a dream.
In the dream, I was brought to the edge of the same clearing. It was night and Jesus was there, praying. And I finally recognized the place: it was Gethsemane.
My companion, whom I now knew was the Holy Spirit, spoke softly in my ear.
“He went through what He went through surrounded by hate
so you could go through what you must go through surrounded by love.”
A dream, yes. A truth, too, given at the point of deep need. We are, all of us, no matter what is happening in our lives, going forward surrounded by Love. And where Jesus is, we are safe.
***
This is the centre of the gospel –
this is what the Garden of Gethsemane and Good Friday are all about –
that God has done astonishing and costly things to draw us near.
John Piper