“My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11 (HCSB)
Awhile back, I was in the morning service at The Awakening. During the song, Nothing but the Blood of Jesus, I got a picture. I saw a 12” x 12” portion of the cross. As I gazed upon it I saw it was blood stained, and was actually the part where Jesus’ feet were nailed. I meditated upon that for a bit, then with the next song it vanished. Later in the service there was a time for communion. As I sat with a piece of bread in one hand and a cup of juice in the other, the picture came back, like right in my face! As I looked at it I realized that this was part of the cross where Jesus had to choose to press off of to breathe. With every breath, agonizing pain would rack His whole body. Just to breathe He had to push up with His nail pierced feet, against the nail, and rubbing His bone exposed back upon the splintery wooden cross. Every nerve in His body was raw and on edge. And He did that for 6 hours. He stayed there until His work was completed. Every second was painful, but He stayed on the cross until He cried out “It is finished!” Jesus finished the work the Father had given Him. It was costly, painful and required endurance.
Just prior to the cross, Jesus had said, “I have glorified You on the earth by completing the work You gave Me to do” (John 17:4 / HCSB).
Today Jesus is inviting us to stand, to finish what has been given to us as our assignment. He is asking us to stand, even in the pain, no matter what it costs us. We are being given the privilege to share in His suffering. He is calling us to endure till the end. And just as He did in finishing His assignment and bringing glory to His Father, we will bring glory to Him by finishing ours!
And on the other side of the cross the Father has exalted Jesus to the highest place. Likewise, we will be rewarded for faithfully stewarding and completing our assignment. So today, we are called to stand firm, to not give in or give up, even in the gross darkness, the pain and the weariness. A great reward awaits those who endure! This is our hour to stand, to shine and to finish what has been given to us. May we glorify the Father and the Son by our wholehearted faithful obedience.
Repent for any and every place where you have compromised and/or stepped away from your assignment in this hour. Ask Him to re-assign you. Commit to Him your absolute surrender and promise to faithfully finish what He has given you to steward. Ask Him if there are any unfinished things that you have been blind to, or have been ignoring because of the pain and/or cost that would be involved in it. Ask Him for the grace to take it back up and stand in it! Ask Him for a grace across His body to rise up and stand in this hour. Thank Him for the opportunity to join in His sufferings in any way possible!
