On the night He was betrayed, Jesus and His disciples were in the garden of Gethsemane. Taking Peter, James and John aside, He told them to "Stay here and watch" while he went further to pray. But three times he came and found them sleeping, why? Because, as it is written, "…The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mark 14:38)
And maybe that’s what happens to you! Many times you receive instructions and direction but you find yourself weak to obey.
There are three secrets to having an effective faith which is through obedience, fighting doubts and taking action. It is not by coincidence that obedience was amongst the requirements.
It’s one of the hardest things to do because it requires sacrifice and our nature don’t want to sacrifice. Obedience to God demands you to trust and have faith in the One you do not see while putting your will aside.
"After all, you don’t want the Lord Jesus to find you
sleeping when He returns do you?"
The example of the disciples is just an illustration of how often your spirit is ready to obey but your flesh is ready to do the opposite. And that’s what the devil wants, because his nature is rebellious he wants you to be a rebel and turn against God just as he did.
At this point the disciples were unable to follow Jesus’ instructions because they were still in the flesh, they were not born of God. Therefore, though they wanted to please the Lord Jesus, they were unable to do so. And perhaps that’s your case. Though you have a sincere desire to please God and obey His instructions you find yourself doing the opposite.
This includes disobeying the directions of the authorities also, such as your parents, teachers, leaders etc. when they tell you to do something. Though it seems unrelated you are in that moment disobeying God because as it is written, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves." (Romans 13:1-2)
The devil wants you to ‘sleep’ in your faith. But you can overcome this because as it is written "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world." (1 John 5:4)
If you want to overcome your flesh so that you may be able to please God through your obedience, seek for this new birth. After all, you don’t want the Lord Jesus to find you sleeping when He returns do you?
If you want to grow in your faith, join other youths for the Real Talk meeting every Thursday at 7pm (time may vary in some branches) in all YPG branches.
Pr Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator
