“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane…” MATTHEW 26:36
Gethsemane is the place of the crushing.
It is the garden at the bottom of the Mount of Olives where the locals came to extract the oil by crushing the olives.
With the scent of olive oil heavy in the air, Jesus came before God with a soul overwhelmed by sorrow.
Jesus held back nothing, He was brutally honest.
His heart heavy with distress and heartache.
He cried out to His Father until the crimson drops of blood appeared on His forehead.
Gethsemane.
The place of honesty and truth.
The place to plead for courage to stay alive until all was finished.
To pour the bitter taste of fear and dread out.
My friend, you don’t have to “hold back” your sorrow and fear from God.
In fact, He is the only One who is able to fully receive it.
God’s love, embodied in Jesus, didn’t turn away from pain but entered into it, faced it, bore it and surrendered fully to it.
Gethsemane is the place to pour out grief, anger, hurt, fear.
The place to be emptied of it.
The place to discover the unlimited depths of God’s love for you.
Nothing, not even overwhelming sorrow, can separate you from God’s love.
He suffered through it so that you don’t have to go through it alone.
