What to Do When Everything Feels Like It’s Breaking
We all have those moments of darkness, don’t we? When someone gets sick unexpectedly. When plans crumble. When life takes a turn we never saw coming. Darkness sets in—fear, doubt, worry, anxiety—because there’s nothing like facing the unfamiliar and unplanned, especially alone.
When the Power Goes Out
Think about those dark winter nights when the power suddenly goes out. Everything becomes eerie. Your senses heighten. You hear every sound, see shadows that weren’t there before. You wish you could flip on the light switch just to calm your nerves. But you can’t, because you’re not in control anymore.
You become a prisoner to your surroundings, waiting helplessly for some flicker of light, some moment of hope.
That’s exactly where Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane. But here’s the life-changing difference: While we often respond to darkness by waiting helplessly for circumstances to change, Jesus shows us a different way.
Active Surrender vs. Passive Waiting
Jesus didn’t just endure darkness—He met it with active, dependent prayer. He didn’t surrender to His circumstances; He surrendered to His Father. There’s a world of difference between those two responses.
At Lakeview Christian Church of Portage Lakes, our mission is to be the change as Jesus has changed us through our “Just 3” commitment: Study to love and know God, Share to know and love others, and Serve as love in action. Gethsemane teaches us that transformation begins not in our strength, but in our surrender.
The Prayer That Changed Everything
In the garden, Jesus prayed words that should transform how we face our own darkness: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
Notice the honesty—JesusNotice the honesty—Jesus didn’t pretend to be strong. He expressed His genuine desire to avoid the suffering ahead. But then came the surrender: “Not my will, but yours be done.”
This is what real prayer looks like—not pretending, not performing, but bringing your honest struggle to God and then trusting His plan even when it hurts.
Stop Waiting, Start Surrendering
When darkness closes in on your life, you have two choices. You can wait helplessly like a prisoner to your circumstances, hoping things will somehow change. Or you can do what Jesus did—actively surrender to the Father through prayer.
Surrender isn’t giving up. It’s giving over control to the One who sees what you cannot see.
When we Study God’s Word, we learn that His plans are bigger than our pain. When we Share with others in authentic community, we discover we’re not alone in the darkness. When we Serve even in difficult seasons, we find purpose beyond our circumstances.
The Difference Prayer Makes
Jesus faced the darkest night in human history—bearing the weight of the world’s sin, facing separation from the Father, enduring the cup of God’s wrath. His anguish was so intense that He sweat drops of blood. Yet He emerged from that garden with resolve, with peace, with surrender.
The disciples, meanwhile, slept through their opportunity to pray. And when their test came just hours later, they scattered in fear.
The difference wasn’t their circumstances. The difference was prayer.
Your Garden Moment
Maybe you’re in your own Gethsemane right now. Maybe you’re facing something you never expected, something you desperately wish you could avoid. Maybe darkness has set in and you feel like a prisoner to circumstances beyond your control.
Here’s what you need to know: The same Father who sent an angel to strengthen Jesus in the garden is ready to meet you in prayer today. But you have to come. You have to pray. You have to surrender.
Don’t wait helplessly for your circumstances to change. Actively surrender to the Father who can change you in the midst of your circumstances.
Take the Next Step
This week, identify what you need to surrender. Is it a dream? A relationship? Your reputation? Your comfort? Your need for control? Bring it honestly to God, just like Jesus did. Tell Him what you’re afraid of. Then pray those powerful words: “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Redemption doesn’t come through our strength. It comes through our surrender.
At Lakeview Christian Church of Portage Lakes, we’re learning together that every road to redemption passes through surrender. We’re discovering that the darkest moments can become our greatest opportunities for transformation when we meet them with prayer instead of panic.
Join us as we journey through this Easter season learning to surrender like Jesus—not to our circumstances, but to our Father. Because when you can’t see the light switch, you can always find the Father’s hand.
