THE LAST SUPPER

Grief: Luke 22

There is real agony stored in grief.

It's a wound that yields towards exhaustion.

This week is Holy Week. Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross so that we may truly know him and the extent of his love towards us. But before the Cross and before His Resurrection, he was grieving.

He mourned the distaste of betrayal. 

Though Judas was necessary for Jesus’s death, he still grieved his betrayal.

The weight of Jesus’s calling weighed on him. His friends who were tired from their own grieving failed to pray for Him in his darkest hour. And soon Peter another friend of his would deny ever knowing him. Jesus was full of anguish. Grief is not just mere sadness. It’s not momentary ache. It isn’t here today and automatically gone tomorrow. It’s a journey. And sometimes while experiencing it, other painful things will continue to happen on the way towards healing. Jesus continued to walk into deeper grief. His soul cried out in prayer but still he knew that God the Father had chosen this path for him. so instead of running, Jesus chose obedience. “Yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42 NIV).  Our healing nowadays looks a bit different. For Jesus, his healing came through his death on the cross because after that the vail was torn and our sin could no longer keep us from receiving his love. for us, it comes through staying committed to the journey of carrying our own cross daily. It comes from seeking the Lord deeper each day. It Comes from deep worship and high praise in low places. It comes through silent prayers and loud weeping. It comes from leaning into grief. It comes from stretching our unbelief until it becomes belief. It comes slowly at times, but it comes. Grief takes more than we can account for, and if we’re honest we don’t get our old selves back after all of its stages. We feel completely disconnected from ourselves but so painfully aware of our reality. Sometimes looking in the mirror is hard because we aren’t really sure who is even looking back at us. We learn to value the simple things about life. Our hunger changes from the grand things to the small things holding all the value. The days we aren’t weighed down by our grief are cherished differently. We learn that the times we enter into prayer with absolutely nothing to say are still important to God. Our worship after grief is different but sweeter. Distractions no longer feel fulfilling because grief demands to be felt. Grief feels like a death because if we are honest, it is. It does more than just affect our emotions and mind. Internally it weakens our gut, causes brain fog and many other things. physically, we stop looking like ourselves. We may experience puffiness, loss of breath and even dryness in our skin. Grief steals from us in all areas of our being. Jesus is not mindless of this, instead he is present because he understands it best. There does come a point where we have to stop setting a seat at our table for our personal grief. We can’t continuously eat the same pain and expect healing from it in the same bite. Sometimes we must do as Jesus instructed the disciples to do when they were grieving, “get up and pray for strength against temptation”. Grief is tempting. It’s alluring. It’s painfully comfortable to stay there after living through it for so long. (I get it trust me I get it). But breakthrough is more consoling than grief. Jesus is more comforting than death. And our redemption was already paid for on the Cross. So, as we take this time to remember the completion of all the prophecies and celebrate the greatest act of love the world will ever know. Remember that the same Jesus who died felt every emotion we have felt and still choose obedience.

What was the last thing the Lord has asked you to do?

How did you answer Him?

And friend, How’s your heart?

Matthew 5:4 NIV

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."