“Knees to the earth that You breathed by Your word
As You watched the darkness come
Crushed by the weight of the cost as You prayed
Not my will but Yours be done
Gethsemane, where heaven met me

Redeemer, crowned in endless praise
My Savior, name above all names
King Jesus, take the highest place…

The song Oh the Power by Kari Jobe has really been on my heart lately. Every time I sang or listened to this song, one particular phrase stood out to me. Gethsemane, where heaven met me. 

The song details the power of Jesus being on the cross and what He did. It begins by talking about when Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane. The story is something I have heard all my life…but today this one phrase has really hit me.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was anguished, broken, and asking God to take this cup from His hands…only if it were His will. Jesus, in a moment of complete distress, met with God. In enough distress to sweat blood, Jesus prayed even more earnestly the scripture says (Luke 22) and God met Him.

Luke 22:43 says, “⁴³ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.” This is where the phrase Gethsemane, where heaven met me led my heart. Thinking about Jesus in the garden and all He was facing. And in that moment…heaven met Him. It met Jesus in His anguish and distress. It met Him in the frantic prayers He called out. In the place that signified the beginning of the end of His life here on Earth, heaven met Him.

God sent His angels to comfort and assure His Son that He was there and in control. God was there when He needed Him…just like He is for us. The God that met Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is the same God that meets us in our cars, on our beds, and in our most frantic and lonely moments.

As a worship leader, I saw glimpses of what heaven will be like as I watched crowds of people worshiping and calling on the name of Christ. And I have been met with heavens love and comfort many times in my life. I may not have seen an angel appear before me but I have felt God’s presence.

None of us have ever felt the amount of anguish Jesus felt in that moment in Gethsemane but we have had our own versions. And in those moments, have we allowed heaven to meet us?

This post has taken me weeks to finish; for some reason, this phrase has just been really influencing me and I’ve wanted to articulate it as best as I can. I want you to understand that God meets us where we are. He is not a distant God but a relational God.

In Gethsemane, with His death hours away, Jesus met with His Father. In a secluded garden where He would be betrayed, He cried out in pain and sorrow but also pleaded for GODS will alone. While Jesus prayed and felt God’s presence many different times and probably every moment of the day…on what would be His worst day, Heaven met Him.

Jesus fought to bring us those moments. Jesus died to allow us those moments where Heaven could meet us. Because of Jesus, we can now say that Heaven has met us if we are saved and one of Gods children.

That night in the Garden of Gethsemane, Heaven met Jesus. The angel appeared and strengthened Him. While I have never had an angel appear, I have had moments where Heaven met me, where God met me where I was and strengthened me. On my strongest days, on my weakest days, Heaven has met me. 

I am so thankful for my Gethsemane moments. For those moments when everything seems to be crumbling and falling but God meets us and strengthens us. It is all because the power of the cross and the power of Jesus’ blood. 

Have you let heaven meet you where you are? Do you know the power of the cross and what this day represents? I pray that you have had those moments where heaven has met you and strengthened you. I pray that you take time to really ponder the days leading up to and the crucifixion today on Good Friday.

Let heaven meet you and strengthen you today.

Listen to the song HERE