And He took with Him Peter, James, and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.”

What have been some difficult moments of your life? What was your experience during that time? How did you cope? When we think about Jesus, we know He endured difficult things, but it can be difficult to remember He can relate with our low moments. In this passage, Jesus was very distressed and troubled. He was struggling. Many of us try to escape the pain when faced with difficulty. We disassociate from what is going on, use substances, and turn to other people to cope with the hard things of life. But as Jesus endured hardship, even to the point of death, He didn’t look for the easy escape, and He didn’t look numb the pain; He felt it fully and processed it completely with His heavenly Father.

As followers of Christ, we can look to Him in our struggles, seeking His example of how to process the hard and painful parts of life. Because of Christ, we never have to walk through the struggles of life alone. The Holy Spirit is ever present with you, ready to guide you and be with you in times of joy or trouble. Jesus walked through hardship in this life by constantly going to the Father and trusting Him with those burdens. Whatever you are going through, you can turn to the Father.

• When have you walked through a time of deep grief? What are some things you can learn from Jesus’s experience of grief?
• What is troubling you right now? How can you open up to God and your church community about these struggles?
• Pray and talk to God about what you are struggling with. Ask Him for discernment on who to share this struggle with.