Jesus Felt It, Too
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV) We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
My life has been very unglamorous. There has been a lot of pain, devastation, and disappointment over the years. There are memories that I look back on and wish I could bottle up, keep in a basement, and never remember again because of the shame and fear and hurt that they hold.
Mark 14:34 tells us that Jesus knew this kind of deep brokenness. While speaking to Peter, James, and John before his arrest, he says, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Jesus knew the heaviness of being in the world. He knew better than anyone the anguish of fear, heartache, betrayal, and loneliness. He was the only one who could complete the mission he had come to complete and had to walk that path alone. But the earthly pain was temporary, and there was only goodness and purpose that was born from that pain — a purpose of restoration, peace, and hope.
When I look back at the hard times I’ve gone through — the things that I truly believed were going to crush my hope and ruin my life — I can only see the pain for a moment before remembering the fruit that they bore anyway. There is ALWAYS a plan when it comes to God. He has not abandoned you. He has not provoked you. He has not given you false hope. He has called you according to His purpose, which means that no matter what we endure, we still have so much goodness to look forward to.
If you’re going through a hard time, take a moment and write down a list of what you think God’s purpose is in it. You don’t have to be right; you just have to be willing to see the other side of the coin. And if you’re not going through a hard time right now, take a moment and remember how God got you through days in your past that you thought were going to destroy you. Remember how he pulled you out of the ashes and turned your life into a beautiful testimony.
Prayer: Father, I thank you for bringing me through so many hard times that I thought I would never get through. I trust, by faith, that you will get me through any circumstance that I am in. I believe you will do it again and again and again. Thank you for not abandoning me or giving me false hope. Thank you for my testimony of how you pulled me from the ashes for your glory and how now, in Christ, I have the hope of Heaven. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
My life has been very unglamorous. There has been a lot of pain, devastation, and disappointment over the years. There are memories that I look back on and wish I could bottle up, keep in a basement, and never remember again because of the shame and fear and hurt that they hold.
Mark 14:34 tells us that Jesus knew this kind of deep brokenness. While speaking to Peter, James, and John before his arrest, he says, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Jesus knew the heaviness of being in the world. He knew better than anyone the anguish of fear, heartache, betrayal, and loneliness. He was the only one who could complete the mission he had come to complete and had to walk that path alone. But the earthly pain was temporary, and there was only goodness and purpose that was born from that pain — a purpose of restoration, peace, and hope.
When I look back at the hard times I’ve gone through — the things that I truly believed were going to crush my hope and ruin my life — I can only see the pain for a moment before remembering the fruit that they bore anyway. There is ALWAYS a plan when it comes to God. He has not abandoned you. He has not provoked you. He has not given you false hope. He has called you according to His purpose, which means that no matter what we endure, we still have so much goodness to look forward to.
If you’re going through a hard time, take a moment and write down a list of what you think God’s purpose is in it. You don’t have to be right; you just have to be willing to see the other side of the coin. And if you’re not going through a hard time right now, take a moment and remember how God got you through days in your past that you thought were going to destroy you. Remember how he pulled you out of the ashes and turned your life into a beautiful testimony.
Prayer: Father, I thank you for bringing me through so many hard times that I thought I would never get through. I trust, by faith, that you will get me through any circumstance that I am in. I believe you will do it again and again and again. Thank you for not abandoning me or giving me false hope. Thank you for my testimony of how you pulled me from the ashes for your glory and how now, in Christ, I have the hope of Heaven. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.