The Cup of Suffering: The Father’s Will
“So Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me’”John 18:11?
This passage details the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter in his zeal to defend Jesus, cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. But Jesus is intent on drinking the cup the Father has given Him.
To read the passage for context, click here.
The Cup of Suffering an Expression of Love
The Father’s nature is love. He is filled with compassion, ready to forgive, and be gracious to sinners.
This same Father is the one who gave His only son a cup of suffering and violence and abuse and death! The one’s who actually administered the cup, the chief priests, pharisees and Judas were at least influenced, and perhaps possessed by demons.
And yet Jesus referred to this cup as that given by the Father. God uses the devil to accomplish His purposes. He is merely God’s servant. And that’s precisely why God allows him to remain here and harass people.
The devil was all over this thing. And yet it was the Father’s will. The devil can only do what God allows him to do in order to accomplish His purposes in the lives of His people.
In fact, probably a large percentage of what God accomplishes in the lives of his people is accomplished through the work of the devil!
God Used the Devil to Accomplish His Will
So, God used the devil to accomplish His will in Jesus’ life. If you doubt this, just think back to the moment the devil entered Judas:
So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly’” John 13: 26, 27.
What he did quickly was seek to betray Jesus.
Joseph’s Cup of Suffering
God also used the devil to accomplish His will in Joseph’s life. His brothers were certainly influenced by a demonic, murderous spirit when they threw him in the pit, and sold him as a slave in Egypt (Genesis 37: 18-28).
But this was necessary to prepare and train Joseph for his calling.
And King Saul was certainly inspired by demons when he chased David through the wilderness seeking to kill him (1 Samuel 23:7-24:22). But again, this was a necessary part of God’s plan to prepare David for his calling.
The Devil is Part of the Program
The devil is just a part of the program. God uses him to accomplish His purposes for our lives. And as long as we continue to be obedient to, and yielded to God, we have no reason to fear him.
Now, this isn’t the case for unbelievers who do not fear God. They have no protection. And the devil will succeed in destroying them. And we need to intervene.
I’m not saying the devil is part of the program when we DO evil, but only when we SUFFER evil. The devil wants to tempt and entice us to get involved in all kinds of sin and darkness. I’m not saying this is God’s will.
If the devil succeeds in getting us to sin, he has gained a foothold. And his aim is to destroy us. I’m saying when we are afflicted and persecuted, the devil is often behind it. But this is just a part of God’s plan, to enable us to fulfill our purpose.
This is entirely different that yielding to sin. The devil can hurt us if he can entice us to sin, but never by affliction.
Balaam did not, and could not, succeed in cursing Israel UNTIL he enticed them to sin. His curses were to no effect as long as they were yielded to God. But, as soon as Balaam enticed them to sin, they were cursed indeed (Numbers 23-24, 31:16).
To read another post related to The Cup of Suffering: The Father’s Will, see The Discipline of the Lord and a Good Life: The Connection.