Walk-on Wednesday - Enter the Garden - Martin Wiles

Welcome to Walk-on Wednesday. By Hump Day, we are struggling, but we believe a good devotion can strengthen us to finish the week strong. 

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” Matthew 26:39 NKJV

Enter the garden and find it can be the most enticing or forbidding place.

My grandfather and mother instilled in me a love for dirt between my fingers. Tilling the soil. Planting seeds and flowers. Watching them grow and produce. Nothing gives me more joy and peace.

But a couple of things could have kept me from the garden. Everywhere I had a garden also had a nasty reputation for snakes—rattlers, moccasins, and copperheads. Reaching down to pick fruit from a vegetable bush involved a risky endeavor. The other culprit was bees, attracted by the blooms on the vegetables and silks on the corn. Since I’m allergic to bees, breaking corn and picking beans also entailed risks. Yet, my fear didn’t keep me from the garden.

Jesus also entered a garden . . . one that caused him fear. The Garden of Gethsemane was the garden where jealous Jewish authorities arrested him and then hauled him before a Roman ruler. This same garden was where he expressed his fear to the Father—his fear of bearing the world’s sin.

Several fears have haunted me. As a youngster, it was darkness. I’ve still not completely conquered that one. As a teen, it was the fear of not fitting in. As I got older, I stopped caring about this one. And then there was the fear of following God’s call wherever it took me. With God’s assistance, I conquered that one despite the challenges and disappointments. What’s left is the fear of the big one—death.

God doesn’t intend for fear to paralyze us. Jesus experienced fear and can guide us through any we face: loneliness, childrearing, unemployment, financial crises. Regardless of what he allows us to pass through, we have no reason to fear that fear will overtake us.

Perfect love—which Christ gives—casts out all fear, as it did for Jesus. As a result, we can move ahead confidently, knowing he’ll provide what’s necessary for anything before us. Jesus momentarily feared, but he accepted God’s will. I’m learning to do the same.

Face your fears. God will provide what you need to overcome them.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the courage You give that helps us face and overcome our fears. 

Tweetable: Have you entered the garden and let God remove your fears? 

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