2014 Lenten Devotional

March 13, 2014

“Go with God” by Rowe Findley

(Submitted by Dave Findley)

Matthew 26:39, 42

It is our Christian custom to ask God’s blessing on friends who are parting from us.  We of the English language usually say, “God go with you” or “God be with you.”  The Spanish say it differently:  Vaya con Dios – Go with God.

For us, the variation between the two expressions reflects a significant difference in attitudes.  On the night of His betrayal, Jesus voiced both attitudes in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he prayed:  “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.”  At first Jesus asked God to go with Him in His hour of trial.  But in almost the same breath, He discerned the adjustment to divine plans that He must make in his heart, and pledged that He was ready to go with God.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father – May we, like Jesus in Gethsemane, learn the wonderful difference between asking You to go with us, and pledging that we will go with You—to whatever tests and trials life holds for us.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.