Your Gethsemane Is God's Furnace, Not A Death Trap

Within the same month when I got saved, I had my fair share of both spiritual encounters and and spiritual attacks. To me, those were easier to understand.

What I neither anticipated nor planned for was the phase God was about to launch me into: My Gethsemane.

I wouldn't say I come from a Christian background. No one led me to Christ, the Lord by Himself drew me to Himself. So there was no way I was going to know what to expect after getting saved, except God told me.

If I had someone who knew God in my life as at then, I believe they would have guided me. As least they would have told me what to expect.

But it was just me and God in this place. At first it was so uncomfortable, so disappointing. Then slowly, it began to make sense.

“How could someone who just started following Jesus get introduced into this kind of life in no time?”, I asked myself.

God wasn't mad at me for questing what He was doing in my life. He was truly understanding. He understood I had little knowledge concerning Him at that time.

He conforted me through every stage of my Gethsemane experience. He gave me promises. He made me see the good work He was trying to achieve in my life—even though that wasn't what it seemed like to my physical eyes.

Matthew 26:36 says, “Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”

Just before His arrest and crucifixion, our Lord Jesus Christ went to Mount Olives with His disciples, to a solitary place known as Gethsemane, where He prayed.

Gethsemane, to our Lord Jesus Christ was a place of trial, of decision. This was the place He was going to make His final choice: whether to submit to the will of the Father and be crucified on the Cross, or to opt for the comfort that His flesh so much wanted in that moment.

Facing the weight of His impending crucifixion and the burden of humanity's sins, the Lord’s distress was so profound that he sweat blood and prayed for surrender to God’s will.

The word Gethsemane is derived from the Aramaic words, translated as "oil press".

Just as olives were crushed under immense weight to extract life-sustaining oil, our Jesus Christ Jesus was subjected to the crushing weight of the world's sin to provide salvation.

All of these happened on the Mount of Olives. A coincidence? No! That was a carefully crafted lesson God left for every Believer to study and understand!

The Bible says that our Heavenly Father did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for us all (Romans 8:32).

Sometimes, God just has to make the “hard” decisions about your life, because the outcome is immensely beneficial—both to you and to His kingdom.

Your Gethsemane is not going to be sweet. It's not going to be flowing with milk and honey. It's your place of trial, of testing and of refining. It's going to feel crushing. It's going to feel like you're being stripped of everything you once held dear—things that did not glorify God.

The weight of Gethsemane was that crushing upon our Lord Jesus Christ, even to the extent He exclaimed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me...”

But Jesus didn't let His flesh win here. At Gethsemane, He overcame the will of self and flesh, when he added, “...Yet not as I will, but as you will.” - Luke 22:42.

Even the man of faith, Job, had his fair share of the Gethsemane experience. He lost everything, yet he stood strong in his faith. He didn't curse God for letting him go through such hard times.

Job knew what God was doing in his life—he knew God was refining him. That is why he said, “when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” - Job 23:10.

And truly, when God was done with Job, we know how the story ended: God gave Job twice as much as he had before.

God doesn't send just anyone into a Gethsemane experience. If He sends you there, it is because you carry a powerful assignment from Him. He sends you there because you are destined for greatness. He sends you there because you are destined to carry Fire!

But Anointing will not come without a cost! Do you know how the Anointing oil is extracted from olives? It is through crushing! That is the PROCESS!

In Gethsemane, you will be crushed and refined for God's Anointing to flow in and through you.

In that place, I went through trials. Life was harder than usual. A lot of things were not working out for me. But the Lord kept on reassuring me that He knew what He was doing in my life... that I only needed to be patient.

God taught me a lot in Gethsemane. In that place, I learned to depend on Him alone. I learned to hear His voice. I learned spiritual warfare. I learned scriptures. I learned fasting. I learned prayer.

That formed a great foundation for who I am in Christ today.

In the kingdom of God, people just don't emerge or manifest from nowhere, to start operating accurately in spiritual gifts—burning fiercely for God. There is always a backstory.

If you are reading this, and you are currently going through your Gethsemane experience, most parts of this writing will immediately resonate with you.

That place is not your final destination—it's a phase. So stay there with God and do not complain.

When He is done with what He is doing with you, I promise, you are going to love the finished product.

Many will come to witness the brightness of your rising, and glorify God for your life.

Your Gethsemane is God's furnace where He refines you to His taste. Not your final destination. Not a death trap. Understand the will of God, submit your will to Him and partner with Him.

Stay blessed.

~ Godssword Edet