Oil Press

"Each of [Christ's last words on the cross] is an ocean of truth compressed into a drop of speech."

~ "The Incomparable Christ" ~

~ Oswald Sanders ~

Lord, may my words be as such, too.

I've been listening to Nancy Leigh DeMoss's podcasts while I run.  I'm behind and still listening to the series she did during Lenton season when she went through Oswald Sanders' book "The Incomparable Christ".  I'm loving it so much I can't wait until next year so I can get the book and go through it myself during Lent. 

In one of her podcasts Nancy spoke on the soul-anguish of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Apparently "Gethsemane" means "oil press".  The garden was at the base of the Mount of Olives... How apropos was it that it was in that garden where Christ was pressed like an olive until He sweat drops of blood?

I have pondered in the past about the pain I have had to go through.  Always what saw me through was knowing that God had my back.  Even when I felt utterly abandoned by all and in a mess I had no idea what to do about and everything only seemed to be getting worse, God showed me how much He was still working for me.  How I was so distracted by one thing I lost track of another and, really, it should have been disastrous but God handled the situation I had lost track of and kept it, miraculously so, from ruining my life.  I knew God would always be there for me and I could always count on Him.  He would not abandon me. If I stuck with Him, He would see me though.

I wonder how much of Christ's struggle in Gethsemane was just that: He knew God was going to abandon Him.  He was surrendering Himself to being abandoned by God, to that moment on the cross when God would turn His back.  The one Lifeline I cling to and know will never let me down when everything else does, Christ had to let go of.  Have you ever had to let go of a life line?  No wonder He sweat drops of blood.