Entering the Last Week

Have you ever gone through a time in your life when everything seemed to be going wrong? At every turn, challenges and obstacles emerged that you had to face and try get through. No sooner had you dealt with one challenge than another emerged making you feel like you were back to square one...

Yes, this life can be so challenging. 

The struggle is real.

As we move toward Holy Week, the Last Week, we move deep into the tunnel of darkness that surrounded Jesus as he moved from one day to the next, from one huge challenge to another even larger challenge. 

In the darkness, Jesus prayed. He wept. He pleaded with God to, if possible, let this cup pass from him. But in the end, he surrendered his own will to God's will. "Not my will but thy will be done," he prayed with the utmost sincerity of heart, soul and mind.

Then he moved forward with his face set toward Jerusalem. Other translations say with "his face fixed on Jerusalem."

Sometimes we simply have to move forward, one step at time, one day at a time. Sometimes we have to keep moving through the tunnel knowing that there is light on the other side and that challenges do pass. 

Sometimes the result is not what we wanted or hoped for...but we do not travel through the challenges alone. God is already at work within each of our struggles moving it toward resolution.

As we enter the Last Week, may you feel the presence of God surrounding you amidst the challenges you are facing. May you surrender your own will to God's will. And may you believe God is already at work, helping you move through the challenges to the bright light of a living Holy Spirit and a resurrected Christ.

Rev. J. Elise Brown, Ph.D.

Executive Minister