21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28] 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
-Mark 15:16-20
Jesus was not helpless. In other parts of the Bible, it actually says that if Jesus wanted to, he could have called down hundreds and thousands of warrior angels to fight for him and remove him from the Cross. He absolutely has the power to do that.
This was a willing submission on Jesus's part to the Father’s will. He let go of his own desires to avoid death and be obedient to God the Father so that we may be saved.
As you grow in your faith, the idea of “willingly submitting” to God will become more and more of a reality in your life. If we are to be like Jesus, then we need to submit like Jesus did to the Father’s will.
What’s something that you’ve been resisting submitting to God? Is it a habitual sin? Is it a bitterness toward someone or even toward God himself? Is it a person or a relationship that’s just too important to you?
Whatever it is and however hard it is, only through submission to God will you find peace and joy. You can keep fighting Him, but you’ll only get more and more tired. Only when you surrender like Jesus surrendered will peace and joy envelop your soul.
The Bible says that it was for the joy set before him that Jesus went to the Cross. It must have excruciating difficult for Jesus to go through what he had to go through, but in the end it brought him joy as he is with the Father and enjoying the fruit of his obedience—our salvation!
When we willingly submit, the joy that comes after far exceeds the struggles of obedience.
What do you need to willingly submit to God today?
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