Save Me From this Hour

John 12:27 "Now is my [Jesus] soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour?' But for this purpose I have come to this hour." (ESV)

Jesus came to die. "This hour" was his betrayal and beating and death on the cross. We know that "this hour" ended in Jesus' glorious resurrection and ascension back into heaven to be with His Father and for all eternity to sit at the right hand of God.

Jesus suffered because of sin. Not His sin but mine. Sin is also why I sometimes suffer. Not because God is punishing me, He did that to Jesus, but because sin always has consequences.

And maybe the sin that brings my suffering is not even mine. Maybe someone else has committed a horrific sin against me either physically or emotionally.

Or maybe it's some disease like cancer and the doctors can't pinpoint a family history or cause for me getting it. And so a sinful, disease riddled world is the only answer.

How many times do I cry, "Father, save me from this illness or job loss or bankruptcy." I should cry out to God because He tells me that I am to "cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) And "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God." Philippians 4:5b-6 (ESV)

But maybe, just maybe, my prayer should not be so much a shout of SAVE ME! But a humble plea as Jesus made, "Father, glorify Your name." John 12:28a (ESV) Maybe it shouldn't be so much about save me from this trouble, this heartache, this sickness as an acknowledgement that I am loved by my Father and I want Him to be glorified through my life in my most difficult times.