“Glory Through Reverent Submission!”

“Glory Through Reverent Submission!”(Heb.5:7-9).
Faith groups that practice shouting and crying while praying are quick to cite this passage: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
Jesus’s prayers were heard, not because he offered them with “fervent cries and tears.” “He was heard because of reverent submission.” Jesus did not consider that he was Son of God; “he learned obedience from what he suffered,” and by this he was made perfect and “became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Here again, it is explicit that salvation is “for all who obey him.”
Let’s go back to where and when Jesus prayed with fervent cries and tears: If Jesus had his way, Gethsemane would not have been a choice. Jesus went to Gethsemane, “sorrowful and troubled.” He expressed this to the disciples: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
The human in him wanted him to do his own will. He would have loved for the Father to have taken another route for the salvation of souls: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
However, obedience took the upper part of Jesus’ heart, and he saw that to succumb to the Father’s will was the only solution. With this realisation, the Lord prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”(Mt.26:38-39,42).
Accepting God’s will shouldn’t be a last option; rather, it should come from the realisation that God’s will is the only will.
While on the cross, Jesus felt abandoned, and he cried(surely with tears): “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt.27:46).
Dear friend, when we submit to God’s will, our lives do not automatically become glowing sunshine. When we submit to God’s will, we should be prepared for our Gethsemane and Golgota! While we cry in pay and think that God has abandoned us, he is rather taking us to the place of new life. Beyond the pain comes the healing! Beyond the cross is the resurrection! The pain and cry on the cross is not fatality; it is victory! Only through obedience and reverent submission can we arrive at that place of victory! Therefore, trust and obey!
Weekend prayer: Holy Spirit, indwell me and help me to be consistent in obedience and reverent submission to the LORD. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.
27/03/2026.