Expressing a Need

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch with me. Matthew 26:38 (KJV)

I am trying to recall times in Scripture when Jesus voiced a need to others. Asking the Samaritan woman for a drink of water at a well was one rare example. Usually it was Jesus listening to, observing, and meeting the needs of the multitudes. Many were the times He slipped off into solitude with His heavenly Father while others slept. We do not read of times where He sought the companionship and ears of friends. Even He said He had not come to be served but to serve. Occasionally we read of people ministering to Him in profound ways. But I am struck by the rarity that Jesus ever made His personal needs known.

What a contrast I find in Matthew 26:38. Overwhelmed with sorrow and deeply grieved He requests the company and understanding sympathy of three disciples….His closest inner circle of friends. He was asking them to invest themselves in His life by entering into His personal suffering. He longed for them to accompany Him as He entered His valley of death. Yet He knew that even as He voiced His need, they would soon give way to sleep. Grief is made even more profound when loneliness is added to it.

How we ache for someone to walk with us through the difficulties of life. We want their attention, empathy, understanding, support, presence, and shoulder. We want to feel their arm around us and to hear their words of comfort and assurance. We draw a certain amount of strength because they walk beside us. I have known such individuals and I thank God for each one of them. I also know the heartache when individuals were unable or unwilling to provide me with such gifts. I just as quickly recall giving or withholding the things others needed from me.

The longer I am on this journey with God, the more I realize He is the One to whom I must look to “tarry and watch” with me. As a matter of fact, it has been His desire all along. For He alone knows the depth of my particular sorrow and He alone is fully able to enter into that sorrow with me. My expressed need will never be met with disinterest, distraction, or sleep. What He sought from His disciples in the garden is what He graciously offers to me.

Father, I marvel that You meet my heartache and sorrow with such compassion, warmth, and availability. May I be like You. Amen.