Image: falco, Pixabay
đź–¤
“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die”
(Matthew 20:18; NLT).
1. I long for you
As evening falls,
And dusk turns into night.
Father,
Must I drink this cup?
It’s too late now for flight.
2. I yearn for you
When morning comes.
I want to do your will.
Lord,
I am lost:Â betrayed; condemned –
And yet I trust you still.
3. My strength is gone
And death draws near.
I cannot bear this pain.
Father,
Come to rescue me,
Then I’ll rejoice again.
4. I thirst for you.
My courage fails –
Destroyed by sin and shame.
Lord,

Why have you forsaken me,
Though I cry out your name?
đź–¤
References
1. As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God (Psalm 42:1; NLT).
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death” (Matthew 26:36-8; NLT).
My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me (Psalm 55:4-5; NIV).
He went on a little further and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me…
2. …Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matthew 26:39; NLT).
I yearn for the Lord, more than watchmen do for the morning (Psalm 130:6; NET).
The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss. Then you can take him away under guard (Mark 14:44; NLT).
So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded (Luke 23:24; NLT).
Don’t you realise that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? (Matthew 26:53; NLT).
3. My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth (Psalm 22:14-15; NLT).
The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name” (Psalm 91:14; NLT).
4. Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture),“I thirst” (John 19:28; RSV).
It was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down (Isaiah 53:4; NLT).
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? (Psalm 22:1; NIV).
That is a clever parallel: the suffering of Christ facing the cross and the pain of the saint feeling far from God. How satan our enemy glorifies in our anguish making us feel distant from God, but He never leaves, hallelujah!
The sun is shining and I have no headaches this morning – praise the Lord indeed. I pray that you are being blessed this morning too my dear sister.
Thank you, Alan. I love the way that each reader brings their own interpretation to each blog. It never ceases to amaze me what people find in my simple words. Congratulations on not having a headache – I share and understand how much thus means! May God bless you today xxxxxx
❤🙏
A dark night of the soul. Yes, I have been there, sister Ruth.
There was a point where I believed that all God had in mind for me to do was gone. Frankly, I did not see a reason for living. But God intervened and restored me to His service.
I remember you describing this vividly a while back. It’s so good to know that things improved again XXXX