Jesus walked by faith

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39

During my days as an undergraduate student I somehow imagined that the chaplain saw an unceasingly satisfying vision of God. I would not have said it outloud, but I accepted it as assumed truth.

Could God do this for chaplains? Sure, but I don’t think that this is His normative practice. I have discovered in my first year as a chaplain that I am led to walk by faith - like everyone else. Shocking? Of course not.

You do not need to have an extraordinary vision to take up your cross and live out your calling. I am inspired by many of my friends, faithful followers of God, who do not claim to experience God in consistently euphoric ways, but even still, imitate Him in radical ways. We follow the God of Abraham. Like Abraham, we walk by faith, not by sight.

Jesus too walked by faith, moment by moment. Heading towards the cross He cried out, “if it be possible may this cup be taken from me” and here we see that the most robust faith is an exposed and hungry faith. In this hour Jesus is seeking a vision for direction, but his faith is neither weak nor paralyzed. In this moment Jesus is unsettled, but He still goes “a little further” (v.39a). Jesus is obedient and unfaltering in a moment where God’s action is unclear to Him. We get to see that in this darkest, but most glorious hour Jesus walks by faith.

In this lenten season let us commit, like Jesus, to walk by faith. Jesus named His desires, and yet was open to either the grace of provision or the grace of perseverance. Jesus was open. Opening up to His Father’s will Jesus prays, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Lk 22:42). Our Father’s will is good. I pray that this openness might be our hunger this Lent.

What burden is it that you are called to go “a little further” with and open-handedly give to your Father? Share this with a trusted friend if appropriate. And be encouraged, Jesus went “a little further”. He did it for you.