Walking Through the Valley of Death Peace with Others

Walking Through the Valley of Death

Peace with Others

The cup of suffering and death is never easy to drink

Jesus struggled with the cup and asked the Father to remove it twice

In those agonizing monuments spent in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane

Jesus found peace with God

The disciples also had to share in that cup and struggled

Peter even said he would die to protect Him

After Jesus came to peace with the Father

Concerning the cup of suffering and death, Peter did not

 After Jesus prayed Peter pulled out the sword to save Him

In the Valley of Death we must find peace with God

We must also find peace with each other

We must be very careful not to force our opinions of treatments on others

Don’t let your emotions and love get in the way of those in the Valley of Death  

They must come to peace with God and we must support them in their peace

The most important thing is peace whether it is to fight for life

Or, accept the cup of death

Don’t let your opinions get in the way of peace

Peace with Others

It is terrifying to receive news that you

or one of your loved ones is about to die.

Emotions run high.

Sympathy overflows.

Our viewpoints can vary.

  

When Judy, my sister-in-law, was diagnosed

with Pancreatic Cancer, emotions ran high.

In the midst of shock and disbelief was reality in our face.

Everything changed.

 We were on vacation with Mike and Judy.

Their children were involved with work and family matters.

Judy’s husband, Mike’s responsibilities and plans changed.

All these things and their importance changed

with just a few words from a doctor.

After the doctor said you have cancer, he also said,

 I can’t guarantee you will be here in two weeks.

As soon as Judy’s two daughters

from the Carolinas were told, they

dropped everything to made arrangements

to get to Florida and be with their mother.

And so did their families.

Judy’s two sons and their families ran

to the hospital as well as many others.

All of us had our lives turned

upside down in a moment.

With everything on our plates turned

upside down we all had clear plates

and we looked for ways to fill it.

Questions and opinions filled each one of us.

Questions of what we could do to change the outcome.

Opinions of what treatments should be taken.

Judy and Mike had to make some decisions.

It was not easy to see how they should handle the cancer.

There was a lot of confusion.

In the pot of confusion were hope, fear,

doubt, and it seemed a million other emotions.

   

As much as her children and others,

including Sandy and I, loved Judy…

As much as we wanted to help…

 We had to come to the realization that the

pot of emotions was Judy’s cup to drink.

Jesus the night He was betrayed took the

disciples to a place called Gethsemane to pray.

Jesus had already gave them a cup

to drink and He described it this way…

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured

 out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

Matthew 26:28

Jesus a little later said they will all fall away

and Peter will disown Jesus three times.

Peter took offense and said even to death he

will never disown his friend, Jesus.

Emotions were high that night

Jesus took His disciples to pray.

Jesus said to the disciples…

"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.

Stay here and keep watch with me."

Matthew 26:38

The disciples and Jesus were all facing a bitter cup.

When Jesus prayed He was concerned

with the cup He had been given to drink…

 

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 
"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

Jesus asked the Father twice

to remove the cup if possible.

The stress of this cup we see in Luke 22:44…

 Being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly,

and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. 

The disciple’s cup was different than Jesus’ cup.

Both cups were bitter and full of emotions.

Both cups had the poison of death in them.

For the disciples, it was the death of their

friend, but for Jesus it was His death.

As Judy faced the bitter cup of her death,

 the rest of us also had a bitter cup to drink.

It became important that we understood

we were facing the diagnose of Judy’s

cancer from different advantage points.

As much as the disciples were willing to

fight for Jesus’ life and had viewpoints of how to

change the outcome, Jesus’ cup was not their cup.

Jesus had to come to grips with the Father’s will.

And so did the disciples.

I watched Judy in her time of Gethsemane.

I saw her struggle the same way Jesus struggled.

Even though it took some time,

I was surprised at how quickly Judy accepted

her cup and found peace with God.

That peace did not come as quickly

for many of us as family and friends.

We wanted to see her try surgery,

chemo, radiation, miracle remedies.

 It was our efforts of love to see her

live that adversely effected our peace.

Like Peter, we wanted to see Judy fight.

But Judy had come to peace with God.

I remember God speaking to my spirit and telling me

the most important thing was for each one of us

to have peace with God and peace with each other.

This was a process.

 Peace came because we all had a heart of prayer.

We all saw things from one side or another,

 but through prayer we were able to see as God sees.

We could see from above the circumstances.

When we have a loved one who is about the drink

from the cup of death, we should remember it is their cup.

We should never allow the bitterness of our

cup to get in the way of peace with others.

This may mean we will have to

accept the things they accept.

So often well-meaning people lose peace

because they cannot allow others to accept their cup.

When we all accepted the fact that Judy

would die, we came to a new place of living.

A place of peace and accepting the

blessings of God being with us.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

…. and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Be careful of pushing your thoughts on others.

Especially when it comes to the cup they have to drink.

Live at peace with each other and God.

Scripture Reading

Mark 14:23-42 NIV

23 Then he took the cup , gave thanks and offered it to them,

and they all drank from it.

24 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25 "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God." 

26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

27 "You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written:

"'I will strike the shepherd,

and the sheep will be scattered.'  

28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." 

29 Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not."

30 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today — yes, tonight — before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times." 

31 But Peter insisted emphatically, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." And all the others said the same.

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." 

35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." 

37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 

39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

41 Returning the third time, he said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!" 

 Psalm 23 NIV

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.