Read: Matthew 26:36-46

The Father’s Will.  Thy Will, in the words of the Lord’s Prayer.  I bring this struggle with me during every confession.  I want to trust in the Lord.  I know God to be right and just.  Yet I struggle to surrender.  To surrender seems weak.  It seems like admitting to failure and I do not like to admit to either weakness or shortcomings.

To surrender to God’s will in NOT a passive act.  I can feel Jesus’ struggle during this reading. Three times he wrestles with what God requires of him in this passage. Knowing that Jesus, God the Son, wrestled with surrendering to God the Father’s will does give me comfort. It allows me to go a little easier on myself – I still have work to do, but Jesus Christ is there with me in this, as in all things.  

So where am I struggling against God’s will? 

And would it look like to surrender God’s will?

These are the questions I bring with me during every confession.  They are the questions I ponder when I am examining myself carefully and honestly.  I don’t often receive a concise response, but I keep trying.   I encourage you to spend time with these questions as well.  To accept God’s will, to surrender to the greater glory and goodness of God. 

Abby Hendersen, Assistant Director of Faith Formation/Youth Ministry, Grades 6-8