My Cup

And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.  Remove this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

During the past year there was a very high profile crime in Denver that captured the attention of the national media. It was ugly and detestable. To make all of this worse, the perpetrator of the crime was a juvenile. In fact, his mother was the one who notified the authorities.

I took my number to stand in line to judge this young man… who wouldn’t. My heart ached for the victim and her family. It should. Compassion flowed… but in a single direction.

Then I got word. Youth for Christ had been asked to meet with the juvenile; with the criminal. We weren’t being asked to assist in the investigation or to dig to the bottom of the motive or to help fill in the blank spots surrounding the case. It was on behalf of this young man that we were being asked to meet. For his sake. For him. It was our number that the detention center called. They needed somebody to meet with the perpetrator. Our Juvenile Justice Ministry was on speed-dial.

When I got word that one of our staff members was on the way to the detention center my heart broke. Not us! Not this cup!

“God, please God, can’t you get somebody else for this job? Can’t you call us to the house of the victim? Can’t you use us in the schools that will be impacted by this crime? Please Father.”

With our painful cup in the air God meets us. Our hands shake, our resolve fades, our vision clouds… and God is there, right there. With strength and hope and courage and peace and grace.

We all have a cup.

We lift it with the hope that it was delivered to the wrong address. We pray that it will quickly change or disappear. We even beg God to remove it. Sometimes we beg on behalf of someone else; someone we love.

But this difficult cup defines us… it exposes us; good or bad.

We want a cup that looks good on our resume or in a glossy brochure or in a YouTube video… we want our will. But as we authentically lift this cup to our Father, His Spirit sustains, confirms and propels us past our will to His.

Our cup. His plan. Our destiny.

Your will be done.