”Not this!” … Well … Maybe “Yes This!”

When things come at you, do you ask God to take them away?

Yeah… me too.

Don’t we all wish the difficult stuff wouldn’t be our stuff to deal with? It’s the cry of our hearts: “Not this!”

“He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by.” — Mark 14:35 NLT

The Day After Easter

What does the day after Easter feel like for you?

For a lot of us, it’s just another Monday. Calendar flips, emails come in, and the “He is risen!” moment fades into our normal routines.

But for some… especially if you’re in the middle of something hard… it’s just another day of dealing with it.

Four days after Jesus was crucified, everything was different. His death wasn’t the end. It was the beginning. But it didn’t mean it was going to be easy. Some of His followers probably felt like saying, “Not this!” because following Him after that moment? It would require everything.

What He Endured… and Why It Matters

When I think about the days leading up to Jesus’ death—the betrayal, the beating, the slow death on a cross—I feel a lot of things. I get sad. I think of His mother watching it all. I marvel at His compassion to the thief beside Him. And I rejoice at the resurrection… especially when He returns not as a broken man on a cross, but alive and victorious.

But it’s more than emotion. It’s instruction.

God didn’t just use Jesus’ life to teach us. He used His death to show us even more.

Through the resurrection story, we watch real people wrestle with their own “Not This” moments. Thomas lost faith. Peter carried shame. Mary wept. The road from the cross to the empty tomb wasn’t quick or easy.

And yet—God was doing something in all of it.

What If God Said Yes to Jesus?

Jesus asked for the suffering to pass. What if God said yes to that request?

No betrayal. No crown of thorns. No cross. No need for Simon to carry it. No chance for the woman to wipe His face. No forgiveness for the soldiers mocking Him. No words to the thief hanging next to Him.

Can you imagine a version of the story with none of that?

Jesus didn’t take the “not me” approach. He embraced the “Not This!” and turned it into God’s “Yes This!” He trusted the Father… even when the process hurt.

Even while dying, He made sure His mother would be cared for. Even in the worst pain, He showed compassion. And even though He didn’t want the suffering, He surrendered to the Father’s will.

How About You?

So what about you?

What are you enduring? What feels heavy right now?

What if your “Not This!” is the very thing God is using to move you into something better? What if this hard thing is a holy thing in disguise?

God doesn’t waste pain. He walks with us through it. He brings people alongside us, and He uses us to impact others even when we feel weak.

We might not understand the why—but we can trust the One who does.

I still don’t fully understand why Jesus had to die the way He did. But I’m thankful for it. And I’m thankful that every Easter reminds us just how far God’s love goes.

Perhaps, just perhaps, what seems like a "Not This!" to us... is precisely what God is affirming as "Yes This!"

Prayer

Heavenly Father, life comes with twists and turns. Sometimes we’re the ones hurting. Sometimes it’s the people we love. And when it happens, our first response is to ask for something different. But Father… help us trust You. Help us lean into the example of Jesus. He didn’t want the pain, but He still surrendered to Your will. Help us do the same. Thank You for Jesus—for what He endured, for how He loved, and for what He still teaches us today. Keep us, our families, and our friends safe. Draw us closer to You. We pray all this in the name of our risen Savior, Jesus. Amen.

(If you want another view of a day after Easter look at this post https://www.connectedgodguy.com/post/now-what)