Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will
not grow weary and
lose heart.
Hebrews 12:3
There is no
shortcut to reaching the heights and plateau that God has designed for you;
there is no way to circumvent the paths and lanes which were uniquely
customized for your feet to travel… In today’s devotional we are reminded that
we must focus on our source of strength instead of dwelling on our current
problem or situation… There are so many
of us who daily find ourselves being caught up in situations to the point that
we neglect and negate the power and presences of God… When you find
yourself on the verge of throwing in the proverbial towel, when you feel like
you are at the end of your rope and can’t say any way out, the author tells you
that you must consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners… Remember
all the snares, trials and hardships that Jesus faced; remember the heartache and
spiritual pain that was firmly thrust upon His shoulders and know that in the
end He was victorious… You can draw strength from the Lord by simply reflecting
on all that He has done in your life and even before you were born… Jesus
fought the good fight over 2000 years ago so that you could see this day; He
considered it not robbery to leave His home in glory so that you could one day
reside with Him… All these things Jesus did for you and indeed did accomplish
them and this alone should provide your source of strength and motivation to do
the same… The enemy can only defeat you if you allow Him and the proof of this
statement is in the words of Jesus Christ recorded in the 4th chapter of
Matthew… Then Jesus was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty
days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and
said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus
answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of God.” Then the devil took him to the holy
city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you
are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “He
will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their
hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered
him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Again,
the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of
the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you
will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For
it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Then the devil
left him, and angels came and attended him.
The passage
from Matthew should serve as a great source of encouragement for the weak and
discouraged believer… The devil presented Jesus with choices to try and deter
His divine destiny; however, Jesus standing firm on the knowledge of God was
able to combat Him and prevail… Today, know that the enemy will present choices
in your life; He cannot defeat you, but will try to get you to ultimately be
your own worse enemy and thus defeat yourself… Jesus drew strength from the
words It is written; you can draw
that same strength from Him today and not allow the enemy to overwhelm you to
the point that you give up on your divine calling and destiny… All these things
which Jesus endured was not only to bring Salvation into reality, it also was
to display the Lord’s victory over sin so
that you will not grow weary and lose heart… So many of us would have
bailed and given up if it were not for the story of Jesus being spoken to us…
We would have ran from our calling and not stood in faith if we didn’t know about
a man from the town of Bethlehem and how He overcame every device of the enemy
to fulfill the prophetic words of old… Jesus opened the door to rekindle our
relationship with the father and also left us with a rod of reinforcement to
know that there is light at the end of the tunnel… This life is filled with ups
and downs; the minute you think you have peace of mind is the same minute you
find yourself on the verge of pulling out your hair… There are many trials and
tribulations that we are too fast and the word of God declares to us that we
are assured to encounter test and opposition… The beginning of the 12th chapter of Hebrews starts off
by saying, “Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that
hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the
pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the
cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God.” Jesus conquered what people thought was unconquerable
(death) and is not sitting at the right hand of God making intercession for us…
He is a living example that things are not always what they same and even the
most trying situations can produce the most fulfilling results… Keep your hand
to the plow; the field will produce the harvest which will make the sowing all
that more enjoyable…
BE BLESSED!!!
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