Matthew 26:38

“Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ ”

Jesus had so many disciples but when His soul was “exceedingly sorrowful, even to death,” He knew that He could not share this level of agony with every one of His disciples. The disciples were His intimate friends. His disciples were above the level of the multitudes that followed Him for selfish reasons. The disciples were His family, His community, and His inner circle. But He had to say to some of them, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” Then He took others with Him “and began to be sorrowful and deeply depressed” in their presence. Jesus permitted Himself to be completely naked and vulnerable before a smaller and deeper inner circle.

Who is in your deeper inner circle? Who are the people to whom you can be openly distressed, and you know that they will not abuse your vulnerability? Where can your “exceeding sorrowfulness” be made bare without fear? We need that deeper inner circle because we will all face moments when we need to share our deepest pains without fear of misunderstanding. We need to have a place where we can let our cares and worries come through plainly. Do you have one?

“Lord, thank You for giving me general friends and the deeper circle of friends I currently have. Thank you because I do have people I can be totally vulnerable with. Help me nurture these relationships so that I too can serve them in their times of need for intimate disclosure. In Your name, I pray. Amen.”