SURVIVING GETHSEMANE
Interestingly enough, the Garden of Gethsemane is not actually a garden; it is an orchard. Olive trees still grow there today. During the years of Jesus’ ministry, an olive press there produced oil for the entire region. In fact, the word “Gethsemane” stems from this. In the Hebrew tongue, a “gat” is a press, a huge five-foot-high stone, and a “semane” is oil. In order to extract the oil, the olives must first be crushed.
On the evening before Jesus’ crucifixion he went to the orchard of that olive press to pray with his disciples and to experience the ‘crush’ of submission to the Father’s will. It was a time of emotional and spiritual agony, but Christ ultimately prevailed. “Remove this cup…nevertheless thy will be done.”
Every believer has a personal Gethsemane to walk through. But we are never alone. Jesus Christ, our High Priest, has prayed earnestly for us. (John, chapter 17) And by faith, we overcome.
Sisters and brothers, be continually blessed, and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO MEET OUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!
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