Matthew 26:36–38 | Hebrews 4:15–16
“My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” — Matthew 26:38 (NKJV)
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” — Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)
One day at the office, I misplaced an important document that was needed for a crucial meeting scheduled for the next morning.
Normally, I prepare meeting itineraries a day in advance, so that evening I began arranging all the necessary documents. That was when I noticed something was wrong; the main document for the meeting was missing.
I started searching everywhere. My desk, drawers, folders and even places I knew it couldn’t possibly be. The more I searched, the more anxious I became. I was sweating and panicking, because I dared not tell my boss that I couldn’t find the document that was actually the whole point of the meeting.
That night, I lost my peace and barely slept.
Morning came, and the meeting was now just a few hours away. I checked again and again, but the document was still nowhere to be found. Every other document was ready except the one that truly mattered.
Mind you, in all of this chaos, I did not pray. Not once did I ask God for help.
With about an hour left before the meeting, at the peak of my frustration, I paused and simply said, “Holy Spirit, please help me find this document.” I knew it wasn’t lost, I just couldn’t remember where I had kept it.
Almost immediately, I felt prompted to check a particular stack of files in my cabinet. Interestingly, I had checked that exact spot several times before, yet somehow I kept missing it.
Lo and behold, there it was, lying quietly at the bottom of the stack. A wave of relief rushed over me. That was how God saved the day for me.
When many people read Hebrews 4:15–16, they often interpret it to mean that Jesus understands our human struggles and weaknesses and that when we fall into sin, He empathizes with us and invites us to receive help.
That is certainly true, but Jesus also shows us something even deeper.
Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, stood in the Garden of Gethsemane facing the cup of suffering before Him. In that moment, He experienced emotions that everyone of us understands: pain, distress and deep sorrow. Yet His first response was not withdrawal, complaint or silent endurance.
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His first response was prayer.
He came boldly before His Father, unashamed and vulnerable. He did not hide what He was feeling. He did not pretend to be strong. Instead, He expressed the depth of His sorrow openly before God. This was the height of the Father-Son relationship on display.
Jesus knew that the Father was His safest place. He was confident in the Father’s willingness to receive Him and help Him. In that moment, Jesus became the living demonstration of what Hebrews 4:16 invites us to do.
Sometimes life hits us in ways we never see coming. The pressure mounts. Anxiety rises. Pain and discomfort overwhelm us, and before we realize it, we begin to do exactly what I did while searching for that document — we panic, worry, complain and try to fix everything ourselves.
All the while, the One who can help us most is the One we forget to call upon. Jesus shows us a better way:
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
In other words, in difficult moments, our first response should be prayer.
Complaining is easy. Panicking is natural. However, praying and truly coming before God often requires deliberate faith. Scripture reminds us:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” — Psalm 46:1
If Jesus, our High Priest, understands what it means to be sorrowful unto death, will He not also be willing to help us? In fact, He delights in helping His children.
But we must come.
Come.
Come boldly.
Oh, just come!
For Jesus, it was Gethsemane.
For me, it was my office desk.
For you, it might be in your bedroom, your kitchen, the restroom at work or even while sitting in public transport on a busy day.
Wherever it is, make sure you pray.
Prayer should never be our last option in moments of pressure. It should be our first response.
Shalom
Olamide Okesanya
IG: @okesanya_olamide
Push Buttons is a weekly devotional of The PowerPoint Tribe.