“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:3
The one to be considered here is Jesus. Throughout His ministry many had ridiculed Him and tried to harm Him. Ultimately He was sent to the cross. When Jesus stood before Pilate, He did not say anything in His defense. He was quiet and defenseless. While getting beat with a whip, and punched, and spit upon Jesus did not retaliate nor give up. Jesus went to the cross without a fight, not even a word was said. And while on the cross, Jesus even prayed for the forgiveness of the people who put Him there.
Today you may be going through some hardship and are wondering where God is at in all of it. Life just seems to be throwing you only rotten eggs and nothing good is happening. You know that God said He would take care of all of your needs, yet none of your needs seem to be met. In fact, the needs seem to get greater and great all the time. You may feel like you are at the end of the rope and are drowning in failure and loss.
You are urged to consider what Jesus went through. To consider is to think about, ponder about, and take into account. Look at what Jesus had gone through in the process of going to the cross. Most people have not gone through even a small portion of the suffering Jesus had to go through. In America most people struggle with what to wear that day and which food to eat later in the day. As Americans we go through very little harsh persecution. Yet we go through smaller struggles in life and often wonder where God is at.
Today you need to look to Jesus when things are looking terrible for you. Remember what He had to go through just to save you when you did not want Him and was one of them who put Him on the cross. Do not get weary! Do not lose heart! Focus on the finish line, not the pain of here and now. At the end of the line we will have perfect life in heaven for all eternity. It will be worth it all! Jesus endured the cross because He knew it would be worth it. So far God has not brought you even close to having to endure the cross. Do not give up! It will be worth it!
I pray that today God will encourage your heart; that God will give you strength to keep running the race; that God will give you strength to endure all opposition and ridicule; that God will give you a vision of heaven and how it will be worth it all; and that God will help you to never get discouraged and give up.
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