it seems you will never reconcile with your wayward child ? What do you do when the pain of heartache is so great you feel that you cannot go on ? shame . Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God ’ s throne . Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people ; then you won ’ t become weary and give up .
Hebrews 12:1 – 3
Jesus endured Hell Week on the cross . He endured the accusations . He endured the ghastly torture . He endured the beatings . He endured the spit . He endured being stretched out on two pieces of wood . He endured the nails driven into His hands and His feet .
One , remember that the trying of your faith brings something more precious than gold . We read in 1 Peter 4:12 – 13 , Dear friends , don ’ t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through , as if something strange were happening to you . Instead , be very glad — for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering , so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world .
Two , consider Jesus . The book of Hebrews offers ,
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us . We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus , the champion who initiates and perfects our faith . Because of the joy awaiting him , he endured the cross , disregarding its
Jesus could have rung the bell . But He made up His mind in the Garden of Gethsemane that He was not going to quit . When He hung on the cross suspended between heaven and earth , He determined to do what God told Him to do .
If you are going through your Hell Week , consider Jesus .
Paul spoke of how he served God “ with many tears ” ( Acts 20:19 ). He then said , “ I don ’ t know what awaits me , except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead ” ( verses 22 – 23 ). That ’ s pretty sad ! Nothing but trouble awaited the apostle in every city . But check out what Paul wrote next : “ But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus — the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful
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