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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to

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Speaker 1: have you listening with us. Today's topic is how you

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Speaker 1: can be honest with God about your hard feelings and

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Speaker 1: still trust God's plans for you. We'll return with the

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Speaker 1: devotional after a brief message from our sponsors the night

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Speaker 1: before the cross written and read by Whitney Hoppler. Then

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Speaker 1: Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Guessemone,

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Speaker 1: and he said to them, sit here while I go

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Speaker 1: over there and pray. He took Peter and the two

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Speaker 1: sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to

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Speaker 1: be sorrified and troubled. Then he said to them, my

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Speaker 1: soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.

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Speaker 1: Stay here and keep watch with me. Going a little farther,

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Speaker 1: he fell with his face to the ground and prayed,

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Speaker 1: My Father, is it is possible? May this cup be

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Speaker 1: taken from me? Yet not as I will, but as

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Speaker 1: you will. Matthew twenty six, thirty six through thirty nine

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Speaker 1: and IV. When I visited Israel and Palestine on a

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Speaker 1: pilgrimage trip, I was moved to tears when I saw

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Speaker 1: the ancient olive trees in the garden of Cassemine. Since

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Speaker 1: olive trees regenerate, they can live for many generations. Some

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Speaker 1: of those trees with the wide, twisted branches were descendants

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Speaker 1: of the trees that were there when Jesus prayed in

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Speaker 1: the garden the night before going to the cross. I

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Speaker 1: imagined Jesus in agony there, knowing he would be crucified

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Speaker 1: the next day and have to take the burden of

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Speaker 1: all sin from his creation onto himself. No one had

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Speaker 1: ever had such a heavy burden to carry in this

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Speaker 1: fallen and broken world. Jesus asked Peter, James, and John

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Speaker 1: to stay there and keep watch with me. He simply

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Speaker 1: wanted the comfort of having his friends nearby. Jesus shows

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Speaker 1: us that meeting other people is an important part of

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Speaker 1: being human. Even though his friends eventually let him down

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Speaker 1: and fell asleep, the human part of Jesus reached out

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Speaker 1: for their support. The divine part of Jesus knew that

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Speaker 1: people are meant to encourage one another. Then Jesus prayed,

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Speaker 1: my father, if it is possible, may this cup be

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Speaker 1: taken from me. He didn't want to go through the

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Speaker 1: excruciating physical pain of being crucified, but even more than that,

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Speaker 1: he didn't want the spiritual weight of carrying the world's mistakes.

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Speaker 1: He was completely honest with God when he asked if

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Speaker 1: there was way out. This is so encouraging for us today.

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Speaker 1: It shows us we can tell God exactly how we feel,

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Speaker 1: even when we're dealing with difficult emotions. We don't have

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Speaker 1: to pretend to be happy when we're actually sad, or

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Speaker 1: to be peaceful when we're actually terrified. God can handle

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Speaker 1: our honest prayers about our most challenging feelings. But then

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Speaker 1: the story changes. After asking God the Father to change

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Speaker 1: the plan as possible, Jesus added those famous words, yet

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Speaker 1: not as I will, but as you will. Jesus prayed

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Speaker 1: with total trust. He knew that God's will was best.

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Speaker 1: Jesus trusted God's plan more than he trusted his own

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Speaker 1: human fear. His love for God and for humanity inspired

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Speaker 1: him to let go of his will so he could

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Speaker 1: do God's will for us. We all have our own

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Speaker 1: garden of Gysemite experiences those times when we're facing situations

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Speaker 1: we don't want to happen and feel overwhelmed by them.

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Speaker 1: But when we face those challenges, we can remember how

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Speaker 1: Jesus prayed on the night before going to the cross.

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Speaker 1: Jesus is a savior who understands our sadness. He shows

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Speaker 1: us that God isn't afraid of our honesty. Most importantly,

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Speaker 1: Jesus shows us how we can trust God's plans for

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Speaker 1: us even while we're challenged by those plans. The night

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Speaker 1: before the Cross was the darkest night in history, but

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Speaker 1: it was also the night that proved just how much

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Speaker 1: Jesus loves us. Intersecting faith and life, as you consider

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Speaker 1: how you can be honest with God about your hard

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Speaker 1: feelings and still trust God's plans for you. Reflect on

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Speaker 1: these questions when you're going through a hard time. Why

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Speaker 1: is it what's important to you to reach out to

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Speaker 1: friends or family? Jesus was overwhelmed as sorrow on the

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Speaker 1: night before the cross. How does knowing that Jesus experience

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Speaker 1: so much emotional pain change the way you feel comfortable

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Speaker 1: talking to him in prayer? Is there something in your

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Speaker 1: life right now that you're asking God to take away?

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Speaker 1: If God keeps that in your life anyway, what will

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Speaker 1: help you trust God in that situation? What makes it

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Speaker 1: challenging to say not as I will, but as you

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Speaker 1: will in your current circumstances. How does Jesus' surrender in

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Speaker 1: the garden give you hope for the difficult situations you're facing?

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Speaker 1: Further reading Philippians two eight, Luke twenty two forty four,

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Speaker 1: Isaiah fifty three three, Psalm thirty four, eighteen, Hebrews four fifteen.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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Speaker 1: you heard today, we want to make sure you know

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Speaker 1: about our sister podcast, your Daily Prayer. When you follow

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Speaker 1: a brand new prayer and devotional each day, so your

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Speaker 1: days begin in conversation with God. If you're looking to

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Speaker 1: grow in prayer or start your day with your heart

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Speaker 1: focused on the right things, search for your daily prayer

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