Spiritual Disciplines ~ Guidance

As we remember Jesus tonight and as we reflect on his sacrifice for us and his love for us, I want to pause here in the garden so that we can learn about the spiritual discipline of guidance. How does God guide us in life? How do we know which direction to go or what decisions to make? Many of us want to follow God’s will but knowing just what that will is – is not easy. In the OT God guided his people with a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night – they could actually see the presence of God going before them so they knew which direction to go, but we don’t have clouds or fires showing us the way, so how does God guide us? To answer that let’s look at how God guided Jesus.


Of all the stories we could turn to in the gospels to learn from Jesus about guidance, this story of Jesus in the garden just might be the best because what we find here is Jesus seeking the guidance of God. While Jesus had been clear all along that he was going to have to take up a cross and died on a cross, as that moment drew near – Jesus began to have some doubts or fears. It says he was overwhelmed with sorrow – even to the point of death and that he fell to the ground. Jesus knew all that he was going to be facing in the cross and I believe it was the human side of Jesus that began to question if this really was the will of God. Had Jesus heard God right - was the road to Calvary the road God wanted him to walk or was there some other way, some other road? When Jesus prays, Take this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you want – I believe Jesus is looking for the guidance and direction of God. Jesus is asking, is this the way God, or is there – can there be – another? For me this moment in the garden is a moment of Jesus looking for guidance and direction and so from this scene we can learn something about how God guides and directs us in life.

When it comes to guidance, maybe the most important thing to remember about this story is that Jesus is not alone. Jesus takes all of his disciples with him to the garden – they go together. Jesus didn’t have to take them along – they were sleepy and tired and they were all going to fall asleep anyway so Jesus could have left them home and gone off by himself like he had done so many times before, but he didn’t and that simple choice says something to us, it says that when we face decisions and as we are looking for direction – we are not alone.

Faith was never meant to be a solitary journey, it’s never just Jesus and me, God places us in a community and that community is there to help us when we direction and guidance. As part of the body of Christ we have people who can and will pray with us, people who can support us and people who can listen to us and share their wisdom and insight with us if we will ask. God uses his people in our lives to guide us so we can’t be afraid to ask for direction. Just as Jesus invited his disciples to go to the garden with him, we need to invite people to walk with us and share our struggles and our joys with us and to help us with the decisions that we face.

So Jesus invited the disciples to go with him to the garden, but honestly, they weren’t much help because they all fell asleep. The disciples didn’t encourage Jesus and they didn’t support him when he made his decision and they didn’t pray with him, so what help were they? Why did Jesus take them with him? I wonder if Jesus wanted them close by because he just needed to see them. Think about the decision that Jesus is facing here, he was going to be taking up a cross on which he would be crucified – killed in one of the most painful ways possible – not because he had done anything wrong but because it was the way God was going to save the world. The cross was the way Jesus disciples were going to be forgiven and redeemed so maybe Jesus just needed to see them. Maybe Jesus needed to see them sleeping there as a reminder of how much they needed him.

In his book And the Angels were silent Max Lucado talks about this time of prayer by Jesus and he says, As Jesus stepped into the garden, you were in his prayers. As Jesus looked into heaven, you were in his vision. As Jesus dreamed of the day when we will be where he is, he saw you there. His final prayer was about you. His final pain was for you. His final passion was you.

Jesus saw you. Right there in the middle of a world which isn’t fair he saw you. He saw you cast into a river of life you didn’t request. He saw you betrayed by those you love. He saw you with a body which gets sick & a heart which grows weak. He saw you in your own garden of trees & sleeping friends. He saw you staring into the pit of your failures & the mouth of your own grave. He saw you in your Garden of Gethsemane & he didn’t you to be alone.



I wonder if Jesus took his disciples with him into the garden not because they would give him great insight into what he needed to do but because he needed to see them. I wonder if it was the vision of the disciples sleeping, seeing their lack of faith and strength and their need for God grace and love which reminded Jesus just why he needed to not let this cup pass from him.

There are times when we need to look at the world around us as we make decisions for our lives. When we make decisions about how to spend our money, what do with our time and resources and how to spend our lives we need to look around and allow our vision of others to shape us. Seeing people hungry and in need needs to shape our decisions. Seeing people hurting and struggling in relationships needs to guide us in our own relationships. The larger community in which God places us can be used by God to guide us if, like Jesus, we will open our eyes and our hearts to that community. Jesus saw his friends in need and that helped him make the decision he did. God places us in community and in all kinds of ways God uses that community to guide us.

Now guidance doesn’t just come from the larger community around us, it also comes from smaller groups where we can share with one another on a deeper level. Notice that while Jesus takes all the disciples into the garden, he takes Peter, James and John and goes deeper. They not only went deeper into the garden, Jesus took them deeper into his heart. Jesus shared more with them than he did with others and what we learn from this is that God’s guidance also comes when we gather around us a close circle of trusted friends. Even though people may fail us – as the disciples failed Jesus – there is still value in having that circle of friends that will go deeper with us in life and faith.

Now while God gives us the larger community and small groups to help guide us in life – ultimately the direction and guidance we need comes from God. While Jesus took the disciples into the garden and went deeper with Peter, James and John - Jesus never asked them what he should do – that question was saved for God alone. If we want God to guide us then we need to ask God to guide us and then we need to trust that God will give us direction. The Bible is clear that God will guide us when we ask him to:

Psalm 25:8-9 - Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinner in His ways; He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.

Proverbs 3:6 - In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

Isaiah 58:11 The Lord will guide you always”

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Jesus shows us that when we ask God for guidance – God will guide, so let’s look at how we should ask. There are 2 specific elements of Jesus prayer that we need to consider. The first is that Jesus is honest with God. In this moment when the reality of the cross with all its physical pain and suffering is closing in on Jesus, the truth is that he doesn’t want to carry the cross. Jesus doesn’t want to die and so he tells God exactly that. When we are looking for God’s guidance in our lives we need to start by just being honest with God. One of the things that being honest does is put into words where we are in our life and in our faith. I wonder if Jesus’ time of prayer went something like this, Father, since everything is possible with you, take this cup from me because I don’t want to die. And then I wonder if there was some silence as Jesus thought about that statement. It was honest and truthful but now Jesus had to wrestle with his own heart. I wonder if Jesus thought about that statement, I don’t want to die, and then started to think about what was going to be good for his friends and I wonder if started thinking about what God wanted. We need to be honest with God about where we are and putting that into words can help us see where it is that we want to go. Obviously Jesus got to a place where he finally said, Yet not what I will, but what you will - it’s not about what I want God, it’s about what you God want and what is good for others.

The second thing to notice about asking God for guidance is that we need to get to that place were we can finally and fully say, God while we may want this, what we ultimately want is you and your will because we know that your will is the best. Standing in the center of God’s will is not an easy place to stand which is one reason why we need the help and support from others, but if we stand there long enough and if we stand there in every decision we make – we will eventually see that God’s will is the best for us and so we will embrace that will and follow that direction when it comes.

As we use this scene in the garden to learn about guidance it is also important to remember that this was not a unique experience for Jesus, this was the pattern and rhythm of his life. If we only come to God in moments of crisis or when we have big decisions to make it will be difficult to hear God give us direction – but if this is how we live our lives every day then we will find God guiding us every day. That’s why this is a discipline – it takes work to keep our eyes on the larger community and find God’s wisdom in small groups and be honest with God in prayer and learn to trust God’s answers when they come. It’s not easy and it takes discipline and hard work but if this is the way we live our lives – God will guide us. So let’s learn from Jesus in the garden how to experience the guiding hand of God and then once we feel it, once we get God’s direction, like Jesus, let’s then get up and go with confidence where ever God leads.