Easter Devotional: Strength in Surrender

During the Easter period, we are reminded not only of the triumph of the resurrection but also of the intense suffering that preceded it. In this powerful devotional, Nicky Beardon invites us to enter Gethsemane, where Jesus faced unimaginable anguish yet displayed unwavering obedience. She encourages us to find strength in Christ’s suffering, knowing He fully understands our struggles and remains our ever-present help. May this reflection deepen your appreciation of the sacrifice that paved the way for our salvation.

Go to Dark Gethsemane

By Nicky Beardon

Easter is fast approaching, and what a special time it is! Many of us will meet with our church family to celebrate the most significant historical events: Jesus’ death and resurrection. There will be joy, thankfulness, singing, and maybe even some dancing as we reflect on our Lord’s immense sacrifice that won us eternal freedom.

During this time, my mind often lingers not just on the joy of the resurrection, but on Gethsemane—the night Jesus began His descent into a valley of suffering more terrible than we can begin to fathom. Here, I see my Saviour on His knees, overcoming the strongest temptation to preserve His life, and fighting against the darkest shadows of Hell to rescue a people imprisoned in the clutches of sin and death. It’s here where I learn, perhaps most powerfully, that I have a God who does not stand aloof from man's struggles but is acquainted with the bitterest grief—He is the ‘man of sorrows’ (Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)). 

I’m humbled and comforted by Gethsemane, and I hope/pray that this devotional will encourage you to spend time there, watching and learning from the Lord’s perfect example of how to navigate the most turbulent and seemingly hopeless circumstances. Gethsemane was a moment of steadfast resolve that paved the way for our salvation, and I truly believe that meditating on Christ’s agony can, through the quickening of the Holy Spirit, give rise to strength.  

Let’s begin by walking through the scene together. 

Suffering and surrender

After eating His last meal with the twelve, Jesus travelled to the Mount of Olives, ‘as was his custom’ (Luke 22:39). Knowing arrest was near, He sought to draw close to His Father in His usual rhythm of prayer. To say that the weight of impending events lay heavily on His heart and mind would be a dramatic understatement.  

Jesus knew He would face a trial marked by false accusations and unjust proceedings. He anticipated the beatings that would leave his back bare, making the long walk to Calvary with a heavy cross the most agonising journey of His life. Jesus would be continually mocked, scorned, and beaten. The force of salvation’s plan was suffocating. Face to the ground, He beseeched His Father. Time moved excruciatingly slowly, and with each passing second, the hulking mass of the world’s sin pressed more intensely into His flesh and wormed its way into every fibre of His perfect being. 

It would not be long until His closest friends—His brothers—would betray and abandon Him. Omniscient Jesus, the Word made flesh, was fully aware that He would be left alone in the world created by His own hands.

Is it any wonder that our Lord sweated drops of blood and was caught in the most profound anguish as He prayed and prayed and prayed for deliverance? Jesus’ human will wanted to pass the cup of wrath, but the human will embraced the divine will: ‘“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done”’ (Luke 22:42). Do you know the strength it would have taken to speak those words? Can you sense the intimacy in His address to His Father? And yet, His appeals met with silence. God’s mission to save humanity hung in the balance as Satan threw everything at Jesus. The reality should never lose its gravity: Jesus's suffering was profound. 

The approaching light of torches grew brighter and brighter. The rustling of chains grew louder. The cup would indeed remain Christ’s to drink. The Good Shepherd was about to be struck by the hands of men, and His sheep would be scattered. From the world’s point of view, everything seemed lost, but Jesus’s apparent weakness was His greatest strength as He submitted to His captors. His body was to be broken, but His soul was to remain safe in the Father’s hands. 

Every scheme to tempt Jesus into giving up backfired, as the Lord, full of resolve, walked the road to Calvary, scorning the shame of crucifixion. Knowing what lay ahead, He fixed His eyes on the prize: the Father’s affirmation of the completed work, the everlasting joy, and welcoming the elect—His bride—to Heaven’s bright and eternal streets.   

Praise the Lord that Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, endured! 

Finding strength in the garden

Western culture manifests degrees of agony, often played out in broken families, schools, and workplaces. Other parts of the world are torn apart by war, with people displaced and despairing as conflict seems endless. In the face of such pervasive pain and suffering, lamentation is often a more appropriate response than celebration. 

In a world so broken, I’m thankful that Christ’s struggle in Gethsemane is recorded in Scripture. It certainly served me well during the initial discomfort and sense of loss that accompanied our relocation to the West of England to plant River Church in Bath. No matter how hard my walk is, Jesus knows, identifies, and understands every trial (Hebrews 4:15). He hears our heart cries, our longing for His Spirit to transform lives and circumstances. He is our ‘ever-present help in times of trouble’ (Psalm 46:1). Gethsemane, along with the rest of the Passion narrative, secured a glorious future through the furnace of divine sacrifice. Jesus cried out in agony so that one day our own groans will forever cease. He was crushed and undone so that one day, upon His return, the brokenness of creation will be fully redeemed and recreated (Romans 8:22).

I take comfort in knowing I will never have to endure what Jesus did. Visualising Him struggling in Gethsemane helps me keep going each day. Imagining Him ‘setting his face like flint’ and enduring ‘for the joy set before him’ (Hebrews 12:2) helps me muster strength I didn’t know I had. Knowing what began in Gethsemane, the Father turning His face from His anguished Son, allows me to depend on God and trust He will never turn away from me.   

If Gethsemane's broken and yet victorious Godman is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). In our weakness and suffering, let us say with Paul that we are strong and that God’s grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). Grace is, whether we feel like it or not, more than able to keep our hearts persevering when life is tough. 

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This Easter, let’s remind ourselves that Jesus said we would have trouble in this world, but the Lord also tells us to have courage because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Jesus wants our trust, our dependence, and our hearts to treasure Him in the ‘secret place’ where He speaks through Scripture to sustain and strengthen us. Go to dark Gethsemane, spend some time in that shadowy garden, and watch your Saviour fight for you—it will make the cares of this life grow dim and make your soul ring with thanksgiving!

by Nicky Beardon

After twenty-four years in Norfolk Nicky, together with her husband Jon Beardon, responded to God’s call to go west. They relocated from Wellspring Family Church in Dereham, Norfolk to Bath, where they are part of the leadership team of River Church, Bath. Nicky is a mother of four and, aside from teaching full time, she enjoys walking, reading, and spending time with family and friends.