Scripture

“Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

~Matthew 26:45-46, NLT

Quote

Let the pass sleep, but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ, and go out with Him into the irresistible future.

~Oswald Chambers

I have often dreamed of being one of the twelve disciples and I think how I would do things differently but that is wishful thinking. At the time When Jesus needed them most, they let Him down. He asks them to pray for Him and with Him for one hour and they dismissed His request and took a nap instead. Was Jesus disappointed in His followers and friends? Yes, I think He was. I believe their indifference hurt Him deeply. Was Jesus shocked or surprised at their behavior? Not at all! He knew them better than they knew themselves. This story brings up an interesting point: how do we deal with our moral failure? We cannot change the past. The disciples would have loved the chance to relive that moment but that was not possible. They failed and failed miserably and there was no way to undo the failure. Failure can lead to despair because we have no way of fixing the past. The disciples had to live with the memory of this miserable night for the rest of their lives. Think about the regret a failure like this can cause. I have made many mistakes in my lifetime but there are two that have created more regret than all the rest. I wake up thinking about these bad decisions and I wish I could undo them, but I can’t. How do we move beyond our regrets?

It helps to remember that Jesus is a sympathetic High Priest and a gentle loving Shepherd. He knew what His disciples had done, and He knew the regret and despair that would haunt them for the rest of their lives and so He commanded them, “Up, let us be going.” Our failure is not final. Our failure doesn’t disqualify us from further duty. It is human to err. We don’t sit around crying over spilt milk. There is no time for a pity-party; there are things that need to be done. Jesus knew their mission was just starting so He aroused them and got them moving. What do I do about my bitter regret? I get up and go. The remedy is to get on the heels of Jesus and get busy. Ministry is the best medicine. I see it all the time: people have a bad or disappointing experience and they want to quit, sit at home and pine over the past. They feel sorry for themselves and they demand that you join them. Their focus is on their hurt and they will tell you point blank: you aren’t hurting the way I am hurting. No one is hurting like I am hurting. I always encourage them to get up and going but many refuse to budge.

I actually learned the following from Matt Dillion on Gun Smoke. A horse can lay down but not for an extended time. The horse is such a large animal that if it lays for too long, the blood will stop circulating to the organs and it will die. This is why they lay down when they sense death to be near. If you have a friend wallowing in self-pity, the best thing you can do is get them up and get them going.

Extra

Horse can weight a thousand pounds or better and so their legs do need rest. When they sleep standing up, they sleep on three legs, resting one leg at a time. I didn’t make them up. Google it and see what you find. They do sleep some lying down but not much.

I hope you have a great day and weekend.

If you don’t have plans, we invite you to the POINT. Drive-In worship at 9:15 and regular worship at 10:15. We are in Genesis and Joseph. Tomorrow’s message is on Temptation.