Perserverance

Computer failure, a fitting backdrop for this daily blog. An upset to the plan, another seemingly random blockade to moving forward in obedience to what the Spirit directs me to do.

I have to admit my life feels like a spider web of threads designed to trap me and hold me bound up and helpless.

As I was thinking about all that is "wrong" in life, knowing that Jesus came to show us how, one day, He will make all things new, the Spirit led my thoughts to Hebrews 12:1-2, "let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before Him endured the cross, scorning it's shame and sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God."

Years ago I saw the movie "The Passion" and it left an indelible image in my mind as to the suffering our Lord and Savior endured throughout the crucifixion process from early betrayal to His ultimate physical death. Knowing the account from a historical perspective, with each step He took under the weight of the cross He carried, I found myself saying, "It's almost over, it's almost over, just a little longer and you will be free, I know what happens next and you win ......this will be over soon."

While I have never had to endure such horrific pain in anything I have had to deal with in life, still I hear the Spirit say to me, "It's almost over, it's almost over, just a little longer and you will be free, I know what happens next and you win...this will be over soon."

The lesson for me in this, is to understand where Jesus placed His focus. The Word says "Jesus, who for the JOY set before Him. " Meaning He had His focus set upon the ultimate goal, the ultimate win, the ultimate victory..and therefore He endured the cross, scorning it's shame.

Even if our trials don't involve crucifixion, they are not random, "oh sucks", "bad luck" "poor me" events. Our trials come from a very deliberate enemy trying to discourage and defeat us. This is the same evil enemy who tried to defeat our Savior as he did our ancestral father and mother, Adam and Eve.

Just as our Heavenly Father's Sovereign and ultimate control sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the fallen world to save us, so His Sovereign and ultimate control will rescue us through the myriad of enemy plotted trials.

Let us not lose heart but rather fix our eyes on Jesus and the goal. I need to get a focus that looks past the suffering, anxiety and anguish to the JOY of what is to come, knowing and trusting that there is purpose to each obstacle the enemy throws in my path. We may not understand all the why's and wherefore's but we can trust that our faith through each trial will have it's reward.

Perserverence pushes us past giving up when we don't see immediate changes to our circumstances. Faith sees the coming victory and brings us joy in the process.

What are you facing today that requires perserverence?

The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?