Have you ever sat and thought about the great restraint that God, Jesus and Mary all 3 showed? While having a conversation with some friends I was quickly reminded of the great and powerful restraint Jesus displayed as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane (praying so fiercely that He tears became as great drops of blood), as He was arrested, falsely accused, punched, spat upon, then whipped without mercy, nailed to the cross and hung between heaven and earth for all the world to see as a portrait of shame and guilt when in reality it was a reflection of His love, grace and mercy. Jesus restrained Himself from calling down armies of angels that would have ministered to Him, anointing His wounds, feeding His body and destroying mankind for their blatant misuse of His love. We can clearly see how well Jesus restrained Himself, His power, His wisdom of knowing that He could but yet He didn’t give into His fleshly side. He prayed let this cup pass from Me, but not My will, Father but Thy Will be done. We know from His prayer that He was not looking forward to what was about to take place, but He knew in His heart that the Will of His Father must be done for the sake of humanity. His humility rose up. We would be a lost people without salvation. We would be a destroyed non-existent world if it had not been for restraint – the restraint Jesus showed as He put aside His flesh and walked by faith. Faith in God His Father that His Will was needed, was right, was loving even though He was about to endure anything and everything but love from the very people He was there to save! Oh the glorious restraint that Jesus reveals here. How He showed such restraint as He said Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Forgiveness is portrayed while on cross, while they mocked and scorned Him, while they parted His garments as they cast lots. Oh the restraint that equaled obedience.

What about God’s restraint as the Heavenly Father watching as His only begotten Son walked this path? It’s extremely important to understand that Jesus is the only begotten Son and not the one and only as some bibles depict Him. We, as humans, can have one and only son. Jesus was with God since the beginning of all things. He is mentioned in Genesis as, God created the Light and separated it from the darkness, as They created mankind in Their own image. Jesus being recognized as the only begotten is significant and we should always recognize Him as such. Therefore think how much more restraint God had as He watched mankind, His own people, the Jews, treat Him like He was no one; just another man claiming to be something they thought He was not. As they treated Him, like He was some common carpenter from Jerusalem who wants attention by speaking these blasphemies, as they called it. Think how God could have “felt” as He watched His Son being ridiculed, spat upon, shackled, beaten, beard pulled out, whipped mercilessly with a cat of nine tails ripping His flesh from His precious body, as the people God sent His Son to save but He hears their cries Crucify Him, Crucify Him, let His blood be upon us and our children. Picture these things in your mind and as if it were your child going through them and all you can do is watch as He is placed on a wooden cross, hands pulled tight so they can be pierced with iron rods (nails), then as they jerk His other healing hand as far as they can because they have to hit the mark in the wood before they pierce that hand. As they drove the nail through those blessed feet that walked many miles, healing, witnessing, loving on, teaching, casting out and delivering so many people from the infirmities that plague them. God can do all things but I do wonder about the restraint He showed on that dark day. To the point, that He turned away as Jesus took on the sins of this entire world. God cannot look upon sin, sin is something God hates. So He had to look away from His only begotten Son. Restraint to not break a promise to mankind who had broken their promise to God.

Then there’s Mary the earthly mother of Jesus, the woman who raised Jesus, cared for Him, rocked Him as a babe, suckled Him as a babe, wrapped Him tight and warm, pledged to keep Him safe and secure, taught Him of the loving side of humanity. Not to diminish the teachings of Joseph in Jesus’ life, for they are just as valuable and relevant to His overall character. Unfortunately Joseph seems to have died before these events took place. That’s why I speak of Mary’s devotion to Jesus. Oh how she showed great restraint as she knew in her heart she could not intervene on His behalf. She could not stop the whippings as she most likely desired to run out there and yell stop!! She would have taken the beating herself if possible because a mother wants to protect her child at all costs. How she must have felt in her heart of hearts as He stood there, bloody, unrecognizable before the people who still weren’t satisfied and began to yell crucify Him, crucify Him. Oh how her heart must have sank and how she probably wanted to yell back at them out of anger. But yet she restrained herself. What about as she watched Him carry His own cross upon the badly beaten body, as He fell under the weight, as He toiled with the enemy (satan) who was in the background speaking words of negativity, discouragement, and things most people would break under. Was she praying for Him to be encouraged? Was she quietly, silently praying for God the Father to grant Jesus the strength to endure? As a mom watching her son go through the worst day of His earthly life, yeah I think it is extremely possible that she could have been praying and maybe also for her self to continue to show restraint because God’s will must be done for the plan of salvation. Then I think of the nails as they went into His hands and feet, as the soldiers raised Him up between heaven and earth for all to see. Oh how she must have felt, the pain she could have felt, the anger she could have felt, but she showed restraint to not lash out in anger. For these things had to be; restraint equaled obedience.

I say all of this because how often do we show the restraint we are suppose to? Do we keep control over our mouths, restraint from idol gossip, from spreading lies, from cussing, from telling a little “white lie” when we know the Word of God says there are 7 things God hates and one of those is a lying tongue. Restraint when we are mistreated in some way, then again, and again. Restraint when we are cut off while driving and we react one way or another. Restraint from sinning daily. Restraint when we are tempted and God keeps His promise to provide a way of escape; do we take it or make excuses. Restraint to hold back our thoughts from crossing the line from righteousness into darkness, fiction, what if’s and if I had only. Restraint as we never allow God the opportunity to reveal all things to us. You know I think we all could show more restraint because none of us have had to endure anything like God, Jesus or Mary. I’ve seen some great hardships in my life but none truly compare to that day.

Lord God my Heavenly Father, Please forgive me for not showing restraint when it is needed. Please teach me and show me how, when and by what means I need to have better control over things in my life. How and when to show blessed restraint and when to use that restraint for Your glory. I desire my restraint to equal obedience to Your Will.I never want to be a hindrance to another.