Each night, we sit on the floor next to the boys’ beds and read a Bible story from each of their Bibles, and then we pray together as a family before they go to sleep. Earlier this week, it just so happened that Angela was reading in Austin’s Bible about the Passion week. That night, she read what the Scriptures say about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane from Mark 14:32-42. Along the way in his study Bible, there are little one-line commentary thoughts and activities that go along with the story.
Angela read these words aloud…
“Jesus was sad, so He prayed.”
When she said it, I was struck. I have times when I’m sad. I mean, normally, I’m pretty upbeat. But I have my own moments of melancholy. In fact, I had an afternoon and evening just recently when sadness hit me out of nowhere. I couldn’t pin-point its cause. I was just sad.
Ever been there? What do you do when you are sad? Do you mope? Do you cry? Do you call someone… a family member or close friend?
When Jesus was at what was probably the saddest moment of His life on this planet, He chose to pray… to talk with His Heavenly Father about what was going on in His life and how it was making Him feel. He took His overwhelming sadness to the only One who could actually do anything about it. In the end, God didn’t change the situation. But He did strengthen Jesus to be able to endure it. In fact, what Jesus faced over the next 24 hours seems almost incomprehensible to me when it comes to emotional, physical and spiritual suffering. Yet, in His sadness, He kept the conversation going with His Father.
And He made it. He made it through the difficult times to the victorious times. (I’ll share more about those Monday.)
Here’s the thing… When you’re sad… especially really sad… like depressed… or when you’re grieving a loss… it can feel like nothing will help. When you don’t know what else to do… when you don’t think anything or anyone can help… do what Jesus did… Pray! Have a conversation with God and invite Him to get involved in your life. Even if He doesn’t change the situation… although sometimes He does… you will at least gain the strength you need to make it through the dark Fridays of despair to the bright Sundays of hope!
If you’re sad today… Pray.
allenchapin.com 
So true.
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