The Holy Spirit: How To Strengthen A Willing Spirit

They did not know what to say to him.

Mark 14:40

When I am a good friend, I am a very good friend. But there are times when my friends would be better off without me.

One friend was sick for two weeks, and I didn’t even call him on the phone. Another friend went through a divorce, and I wasn’t there for him. Still another friend received a great honor, but I never congratulated him. A friend stopped by to see me, but I was tied up in a meeting, and I never tried to contact him later.

Sometimes we are the weakest of friends. We disappoint. Then, when we see that friend again, we are embarrassed. We were not there for them when they needed us. We let them down. We do not know what to say.

When we are not a good friend, it is possible that we are being a selfish, wicked-hearted person. But the far more likely answer is that we are weak, not filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

The disciples went out to Gethsemane to keep watch with Jesus while sorrow overwhelmed his soul. But they fell asleep. At the very moment their Friend needed them most, they were not there for Him. These were not evil men; rather, they were weak. “‘The spirit is willing, but the body is weak’” (Mark 14:38).

A second time Jesus went a short distance to pray. When he returned they had fallen asleep again, “because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him” (Mark 14:40). What could they say? They had let their Friend down, disappointed Him. Who among us has not let our Friend down in far greater ways?

Yet these men loved Jesus, just as you and I love Jesus. Their failure to stay awake with Jesus was not a despicable lack of compassion for their Friend. No, they, too, were “exhausted from sorrow” (Luke 22:45). Their bodies were weak from the grind of life. The stress of the moment had taken its toll. The physical and mental exhaustion from overwork had come upon them. And they fell asleep.

“They did not know what to say to him.” The disciples did not know what to say to Jesus because they were embarrassed. They had fallen asleep not once but three times. Three opportunities to demonstrate their devotion to the Lord, three times failed. The Holy Spirit had not come upon them yet, and they did not know why they were weak. “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” And so they did not know how to explain themselves.

Jesus did not accuse them of sin. But He did express disappointment that His friends were not there for Him, that they slept. “‘Could you not keep watch for one hour?’” (Mark 14:37). How have you disappointed Christ? “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” We all let Him down. No matter, He knows the body is weak. But is your spirit willing? If it is not, ask Him to grant you a willing spirit that He might sustain you. You and I can strengthen our willing spirits. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Has the Holy Spirit come upon you? By this, I don’t mean the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Surely, all believers are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. But has the power of the Holy Spirit come upon you? Or, do you still fall asleep on your Friend? Is it time to grow up in your salvation to the point of walking in the power of the Holy Spirit every moment? Confess your sins, then, and ask Him to fill your willing spirit with the power of His Holy Spirit. “Fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Timothy 1:6).

Now walk in the Spirit, keeping watch, not letting your Friend down. And if you should fall asleep a second or third time, wake up and start again. Soon you will walk in His Spirit’s power more than you did at first.

I SURRENDER

Lord Jesus, I want to be a better friend. I confess that I have let You down, and after You have been my Friend. I do not know what to say to You. My spirit is willing, but my body is weak. Therefore, Lord, I ask You to fill me with the power of Your Holy Spirit so that I might keep watch. Help me fan into flame the gift of Your Spirit. And when I fall asleep the second or third time, come to me and wake me, and I will try again. Amen.