When the cup doesn't pass

"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. 
Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Matthew 26:39

When the cup doesn't pass- then we are left to face the problems it holds. 

A few weeks ago I felt like to Lord gave me a word as I was getting ready for the day. The word was simple, yet it was a word that I felt like could be the title of a book written about my life. It is also a word that the Lord is teaching me to use every day as I look down at the cup that is still in my hands. 

The word and the picture below keep me focused on who shows up when the cup doesn't pass. He gently puts His forehead upon mine and whispers, Julie - You must go "through" with me. I'm here with you, and I care deeply about the cup you hold.

I am the one offering it

and the only way is through. 

This word was given to many others who were called to walk "through" when their cup didn't pass. Adam and Eve wanted to hide, but God met them, clothed them and showed them another way. Sahra tried to go her own way and still, God walked her through to make good on His promise. Abraham walked through as his heart broke into a million pieces to find that God would provide another way, a ram. One of Moses cups was to walk through as the red sea parted before him. Joseph held his cup for 2 more years as disappointment begged him to put it down. His focus walked him through to a position that would save many. And then Jesus shows us a clear picture of the cup and how to move through when it doesn't pass. 

"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."

Matthew 26:39

The commentary of this verse says that when Jesus prayed for the cup to be taken the spirit checked him and His prayer moved to yet, your will not mine. 

I thought to myself, how many times do I pray for the cup to pass and wait .. I don't move on to the yet, your will not mine. The cup stays, and I wait... it's a place where I get stuck. I'm waiting, and God is saying drink it because the only way is through. The cup holds a bitter problem and I don't want to surrender and drink. 

We see an impossible problem and God sees how His presence makes all things possible. 

God works "through" us- 

"Christ in you, the hope of glory"- Colossians 1:27

Through- moving to one side and out the other side. An opening, channel or location. Stepping boldly through the doorway. It is a word that indicated movement into one side or point and out another, especially the opposite side. From one boundary to another without stopping. 

Christ in you desires to lead you through. 

Surrendering to the cup requires a reckoning with the disappointment of not getting our way.

We must balance the books with this truth- 

Every problem has the potential to teach us something. Its purpose is to transform us to take the next step towards freedom and destiny. 

Every problem can be a stumbling block that will cause you to fall if you react with distrust or defiance.

The cup offers you a choice- 

Will you trust and focus on my presence to lead you through the problem? Or will you distrust by focusing on the problem willed not to move until it passes?

The truth will open your mind to the possibilities and benefits of drinking the cup.

When you drink from the cup, it allows Christ in you,  to work all things together for our good. 

Our Father indirectly works for our resurrection by allowing us to drink from the cup, feel the weight of the cup so that we might understand the purpose of the cup is always for our good. 

The cup presents itself only because there is a solution. 

I love the lyrics to the song above, "There was another in the fire". It is such a good reminder that we never drink the cup alone. He is always with us showing us the way through.