I’m sure you’ve had a situation in life where hope has dwindled after the stormy trial tarries on. The burden weighs heavy and God’s promises seem so far removed. You pray and wait, but the longer it goes, the more doubt creeps in, making God’s word seem like a nice fairy tale. But deep within your heart lies the anchor of your faith, believing even if a little, that He will come through for you.
Are you in a season of suffering? Hold onto hope; this time is not wasted. There is great impact and reward in your pain!
As you reflect upon Jesus’ death on the cross in today’s post, you’ll see why the Father didn’t remove Him from His own suffering, and the impact, and reward because of it.
There are many who experiencing a degree of sorrow right now for various reasons; perhaps you are one of them. How do you move forward when all joy and passion seem lost to you? Let’s visit the garden of Gethsemane and see what Jesus did in His time of sorrow.
If you’ve followed along in this series of Jesus’ principles of ministry, you’ve learned the importance of training and action through teaching and healing. There’s one last component to observe that makes the other two able to thrive.
In a literal sense, you might be saying, “Rachel, I’m not equipped with the gift of healing.” There are some who doubt God still heals miraculously, or by way of the gift of the Spirit through humans. There have been many people who have professed this falsely and made it hard to believe the authenticity of this still exists. There are others who fully believe God still strongly uses this gifting around the world. For the sake of this study and for the purposes Jesus is modeling, let’s consider our conversation of healing in the more figurative sense instead of literal.
There are three important principles by which Jesus ran His ministry: He taught, He healed, and He rested. Sometimes you can see the clear order of this in Scripture; other times, it is scattered throughout the New Testament in varying degrees. Today, let’s dive into the principle of teaching so you can gain a better grasp on its importance for you.
“We had been praying. We felt so sure of this course of action. We had even witnessed a positive response to treatment initially. Hadn’t we been seeking God’s will for our son and felt his tender leading to this current course of action? Then why wasn’t it working? How could his condition
now be labeled “severe”? Why did God choose to let this happen to our son?”
Jesus’ life on earth was to conquer sin, shame, and death, and offer everlasting life to those who put their faith in Him. But there was a process even for God Himself to follow, a royal order to put Jesus on the throne over heaven and earth. And thankfully, this plan graciously included humans.
The British monarchy has been followed by millions of people around the world for decades. Their lives captivate us with romance, drama, and intrigue most likely from the fairy tales of castles, princes, and princesses since we were children.
Many have adored Prince William as they’ve watched him grow and prepare to become a future king. One thing he has had to do to train for this position is learn to defend his country from the front lines, like kings have done in millenniums past. Even David marched out in front with his mighty men before and after he became king.
The Passover was a grand celebratory reminder of God’s deliverance and independence for Israel from Egypt. It reminded them of His provision and protection, which carried on through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Over a thousand years later, the Israelites had mixed feelings as they journeyed towards the festival once again.
Israel lost their independence and were now under the control of the Roman empire. Their hearts weighed heavy because they knew what they were supposed to be – a privileged nation under God’s rule alone. Yet, as they travelled toward Jerusalem for the yearly Passover, they held onto hope that the words of the prophets of Yahweh would soon come true. Little did majority of the people know that year that the Deliverer was already in their midst.