Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”
Matthew 26:38 (NKJV)

Anguish is defined as extreme suffering, grief, or pain. Its synonyms include sorrow, affliction, and agony. Perhaps you started reading this book because you identified with the word anguish. Maybe you are suffering with an illness, experiencing the pain of financial difficulties, or grieving the loss of a loved one. Maybe current events in the world have you immobilized with fear.

And while we like to believe that misery loves company, the reality is that the most painful of struggles often leave us feeling alone. We see that in today’s reading.

Jesus took eleven close friends—the disciples—with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane. He then invited His inner circle—Peter, James, and John—to stay awake, to watch, while He prayed. And they could not. Three times Jesus found His closest friends sleeping. Three times He prayed that He would not experience separation from God. The Bible tells us that Jesus was in such anguish that His sweat was like blood (Luke 22:44).

Jesus knows what it’s like to feel alone. There is nothing we experience that He hasn’t experienced and cannot identify with. In fact, there is nothing we go through—the key word is through—that He hasn’t gone through. He doesn’t require us to do what He hasn’t already done.

So, while others may not fully understand what you are going through, and although it may feel as if you are alone, you are not alone. Psalm 46:1 reads, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Living for the Lord is not easy. Jesus clearly tells us His calling is difficult. He shows us that the calling was difficult even for Him. But the Bible gives us His example—and the examples of others like Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel; the apostle Paul; and Mary, the mother of Jesus—who answered the difficult call and lived amazing lives.

I invite you to embrace Him. Praise Him and thank Him for your suffering. He is using you. He is, as Bishop T. D. Jakes would say, trusting you with trouble. Praise Him, for our greatest blessings come from our greatest challenges.