The Bitter Cup.....

We attended Church today with a sweet Friend.

It amazes me, how God knows exactly what we need, when we need it.

I say that all the time.

And I know, it shouldn't surprise us.

I mean, He IS God, after all.

But, He places us in the exact spot we need to be in, in order
to hear the exact words we need to hear.

Such was the case today.

As soon as the Pastor spoke the title of the
Message, I knew it was for me.

"How do we drink from the cup we hold in our hands?"

Hmmmmm, now think about that for a minute.

"How do we drink from the cup we hold in our hands?"

The text was taken from Matthew 26:36-46.

I'm gonna paraphrase.

Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.

He is sorrowful.

Very sorrowful.

Actually, sorrowful to the point of death.

While He's in the Garden, He prays 3 different times to the Father.

The Pastor brought out today how each time was different.

I mean, honestly, if you read the story, it all
seems like the same prayer to me.

"Don't make me have to do this, but if I have to, your will, not mine."

That seems to be the jest of it really.

Today, I saw something different.

Give me a minute and let me explain.

What is the bitter cup?

To Jesus, it was the cross.

To us, it could be any number of things.

Loss of a child.

Death.

Cancer.

Divorce.

Addiction.

Betrayal.

Sickness.

Job.

Finances.

The list goes on and on and on.

It may be one thing or a combination of things.

What do we do when we are handed that cup to drink?

Most of the time, we do everything but drink from it.

I know I do.

I get sad.

I cry.

I scream.

I get angry.

I yell.

I stomp my feet.

I throw temper tantrums.

I become bitter.

I shut out people that I love and that love me and care about me.

I get mad at God.

I stop praying.

Yes, I said that.

I stop praying.

Sometimes, I throw the cup.

Sometimes, I walk away from it with no intention of ever going back.

Today, I learned how I should hold the cup, how I should drink from it.

I learned how Jesus did.

In His first prayer, He surrendered His will.

In prayer #2, He accepted God's will.

In the last prayer, He teaches us to never quit praying.

I know from personal experience, we stop praying
when it becomes hard or the cup is bitter, when
that is the time we should be praying the hardest.

I know we are more than our circumstances and are not defined by them.

I often wonder why God has forgotten about me and just exactly where is He?

I forget He is the One who brought me here to begin with.

He is the One who served this bitter cup.

There are times it IS hard to remember that.

It seems like today, as soon as I got out
of Church, I was given a refill of an extremely bitter cup.

I'm not so sure I held it, or drank from it well.

Actually, I know I didn't.

I'm mad.

My feelings are hurt.

But I am trying to remember, God sent me to that
Church today to hear THOSE words because He knew I'd
feel like I had been slapped in the face.

He knew that bitter refill was coming.

The hurt is still there.

The anger is still there.

And yes, I've prayed, even today, for God to take
this cup and pour it out or give it to somebody else.

But if He doesn't, and to be honest, the chances of that
happening are not looking good at this point, I know He IS Faithful.

He will turn this TEST into a TESTIMONY.

I can't wait to see it.

Love you MUCH!

=],