And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
Matthew 26:37-38
The One Step Daily Devotional is intended to provide just one step each day for your journey with God. Every journey requires water breaks. Here is a water break for you.
What do we do when life hurts so badly that we feel that we could die? I know that’s a strong sentiment, but I believe that we have all been there, and some of us might share that feeling or one that is close to it right now. This verse in Matthew shows that even Jesus felt that way at least at one time.
The book of Psalms demonstrates an invitation from the Lord for us to be honest with Him about how we feel. For example,
Psalm 145 is a psalm of praise.
Psalm 100:1-5 is a psalm of joy.
Psalm 86:8-15 is a psalm of gratitude.
Psalm 51 is a psalm of guilt.
Psalm 5 is a psalm of lament.
Psalm 109 is a psalm of anger.
Each of these psalms (and many others) invite us to join with the chorus of believers throughout history who have chosen to lay bare their souls before God.
Sometimes, in an effort to be “holy” or religious or “good,” we jump past vital emotions that have pooled in our soul. Maybe we attempt to focus on psalms of praise or joy or gratitude In an effort to force ourselves to jump to forgiveness (or something we believe to be forgiveness). In this, we minimize or ignore our true feelings.
Prior to forgiving the whole world in the most holy and good act of all of human history, Jesus felt and dealt with His feelings with honesty:
He felt (He “began to be grieved and distressed” - Matthew 26:37)
He shared His feelings with others (“My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me” - Matthew 26:38)
He expressed the source of His feelings to God (“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” - Matthew 26:39)
We know from Matthew 26:30 that Jesus sang various Psalms. “Psalms” is the ancient Greek translation from the original Hebrew of the Old Testament.* “Psalms” derives from psalmoi which means “songs.”*
Want to be holy? Want to do something good? Be like Jesus. Sing an honest song to God. Allow yourself to be honest with yourself about your true emotions. Share those emotions with someone very close to you and worth trusting with them. Talk to God about the source of your emotions. Submit to God… He knows best (always and including when people don’t).
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to be honest about how you are feeling. Perhaps God wants you to sing a song to Him that laments, expresses anger, guilt, or thanksgiving. Maybe today He would like to hear you sing a song of praise despite your pain. Perhaps today God wants to meet with you. Perhaps today God wants you to just be you and be with Him.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.
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*Fuller, R. with Fleming David M. (2003). Psalms, Book Of. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 1342). Holman Bible Publishers.