WILLING SPIRIT/WEAK FLESH

Mark 14:38b tells us "The Spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak."


Jesus said this to Peter, James and John as they kept falling asleep waiting for Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  They were supposed to be in prayer and it was just before Christ was turned over to the temple guards by Judas. There they were, sleeping.  The  Message says that part of the disciples was "eager and ready for anything in God, but another part was as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire."  They weren't rebellious; they were just comfortable!  That changed in a hurry, didn't it?  Judas was upon them.


Jesus knew that in humans, we may very much want to do what is right, but then the weakness of the flesh enters in and we waver. Being comfortable, for example, may keep us from doing  something for God because our comfort keeps us from having a determined effort to obey our Lord. Jesus even knew His own closest disciples would flee and deny they even knew who He was.  Yet he never gave up on them.  He eventually would empower them to go beyond their limitations of the flesh through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.


 After that, they may never have been truly comfortable again, but the work they accomplished for the Lord satisfied their souls, and they never regretted their lack of comfort. For God gave them a call to change the world.  When God gives us a call and we say, "Yes, Lord", but then falter, we can remember that His Spirit is there for us to call upon.  And we must do so!


Lord Jesus, Thank you for overcoming the weakness of our human flesh.  We do like to be comfortable!  But we pray for you to prepare us for sacrifice when we need to.  Amen.


Jo INMN