For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.  Hebrews 12:3

Jesus endured more hostility from others than you and I will ever experience.  He responded with unfathomable mercy, but also with a justice that prevails eternally.  We couldn’t have predicted his responses back then, nor should we try to guess how we should respond today.  We must take the hatred directed at us, along with the people who expressed it, and put it all in God’s hands.  He rules righteously with both justice and mercy, and only He can work His response through us in the power of the Holy Spirit.

“Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15  Jesus, through His death, dealt with the strategic levels of authority in the demonic realm.  He publicly humiliated Satan.  How did Jesus celebrate victory?  Perhaps the answer lies in the context of ancient Roman customs.  The victor was placed in a chariot drawn by a white horse, and the enemy was chained to the back of his chariot. He was paraded through the streets of the city.  Citizens of Rome applauded the victor as he passed by.  Behind him, his conquered ones endured the shame of defeat. 

In this picture, Christ was in the chariot, having defeated Satan through the cross.  His enemies made quite a spectacle in heavenly places, paraded in public defeat and subjugation.  

Our enemies may be flesh and blood, but the war’s origin is not of the ‘flesh and blood’ kind.  The attacks are conceived and fueled by the evil ones who wage war against Christ.  Spiritual foes want us to believe they still have all the power.  They want us to fear that the cross was not a defining moment in their fate.  But these enemies have been defeated and have been shamed before heaven.  Jesus dealt with them once at Calvary and He will deal with them again before casting them into the lake of fire.  They already know their end.  Suddenly they shouted, “What have You to do with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”  Matthew 8:29

Until then, as we face others’ hostility, we can find strength in knowing He deals with our enemies, both human and spiritual, even now, with infinite wisdom.

The cross before me.  The cross behind me.  You rule in victory and I trust You.  Amen

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled by the Israelites for seven days. Hebrews 11:30

Looking foolish seems to recur throughout Scripture. A great man like Naaman was commanded to dip seven times in the muddy Jordan to be healed. Noah was told to build an enormous ark while judgment was still unseen. Jehoshaphat sent singers ahead of his army into battle. The Israelites were told to walk around Jericho for seven days, expecting fortified walls to collapse. Obeying God required laying down the need to appear reasonable. Naaman was humiliated by the command. Jehoshaphat must have wondered whether he had heard such an outlandish strategy correctly. Noah endured years of building something that made little sense to anyone watching. And while the Israelites did not have to circle Jericho for years, seven days is still a long time to look ridiculous.

Did everyone marching around Jericho believe, with every step, in God’s promised outcome? I doubt it. No more than I trust God perfectly every moment when He leads me into something frightening. I take a deep breath. I obey. Criticism comes. My courage thins, and I return to God for enough strength to take the next step. Then the process begins again. Obedience can be lonely, especially when God’s instructions fall outside everything logical and predictable.

No wonder faith must precede radical obedience. Without faith, I will eventually retreat to what makes sense. The fear of looking foolish is powerful because reputation is one of the last things I want to place on the altar. But obedience requires an audience of One. God’s voice has to become weightier than everyone else’s opinion.

Hebrews 11 records the stories of people who entrusted themselves to God when obedience made no earthly sense. They became heroes of faith not because they were fearless, but because God’s word became more compelling than the crowd’s approval. Long before Jesus spoke of the narrow road, faithful people were already discovering how lonely that road could be.

Human plans can impress people because their logic is visible. God’s plans often make sense only to those willing to walk by faith. Earth gives trophies for visible accomplishment; heaven measures something deeper ~ the obedience no one understood, the years no one applauded, the faithfulness that survived ridicule. Those heroes are now with Jesus. They now understand how one strange act of obedience advanced the kingdom of God.

Free me from the need to look wise, reasonable, or understood. Amen

We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  Titus 3:3-5

Jesus was not afraid to come and live among people who knew how to hate. He was not naïve about the darkness that can move through human relationships. He understood jealousy between friends, rivalry between siblings, the quiet resentment that grows when someone else receives what I wanted for myself. He knew how easily offended love can turn into contempt, and how quickly envy can justify cruelty.

None of this surprised Him. Long before Bethlehem, He had witnessed what sin had done to the human heart. Cain murdered the brother whose offering God received. Noah, after surviving the flood by grace, still carried the Fall within him. David’s desire for Bathsheba grew into adultery, deception, and death. Sin, left unchallenged, always grows new roots.

When Jesus came, He also knew the ancient strategy of the evil one, who first rebelled against God and has spent centuries persuading people to distrust God’s goodness. Satan whispers that what God has given me is not enough. He says, Someone else is loved more than you. They are more favored and more blessed. Beneath all of this is an even deeper accusation against God. God has withheld something from you that you should have had.

If you’re jealous of someone, they probably feel it.  Conjuring up a fake warmth that seems genuine is nearly impossible.  Your body language says it all. In our flesh, we want more than what we have and if someone else has it, we struggle to love them.  No relationship is safe from the reaches of sin.

And this is the world Jesus willingly entered. The dread of what He might suffer didn’t prevent Him from coming to extend kindness instead of condemnation. Titus does not say that our goodness appeared and drew God near. It says that His kindness appeared while we lived in malice and envy.

What You have done for me overwhelms me, Jesus. But what humbles me even more is knowing that Your mercy extends to those I find difficult to love. Let Your kindness reach the jealous, wounded places in me. Amen

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.  Hebrews 4:9

When is this “rest” God has promised? Its fullest expression is eternal. I will work, as Adam and Eve worked in Eden, but labor will no longer carry the curse. I cannot imagine what work will feel like without frustration, failure, fatigue, or lack of provision shadowing it.

Frustration: Nothing will work against what is good. There will be no abuse of power, no lack of resources, no strained relationships corrupting what God has called me to do. Work will be experienced in harmony with others because everyone involved will be whole.

Failure: There will be no such thing as failure.  I will be like Jesus.  Whatever ability I need, I will possess.  Knowledge and skill will be innate. I will see closure wherever I invest my time. No shame over inadequacy and no unfinished work will insinuate that I was not enough.

Fatigue: My glorified body will not betray me with sickness or weariness. I will spend myself without limits and without feeling myself wear out in the process.

Financial restrictions: Scarcity will be gone. I will never again know the frustration of carrying a vision larger than the resources available to me.

But Hebrews says that even now, I can taste the Sabbath rest to come.  How can that be if I live in a fallen world?  Because Paradise has been restored internally.  I am at peace with God.  In the Spirit, I am one with Perfection.

Frustration still comes, but I can take what I cannot fix into prayer. I need not live in futility.

Failure still hurts, but it no longer has the right to define me. If I have sinned, there is mercy. But if I have simply reached the limit of my ability, there is grace.

Fatigue and depletion are real, but God encourages rest and promises to restore when I’m drained.

Financial limitations may still be grievous. There may be dreams I can’t afford, opportunities I miss, and losses I mourn. I don’t pretend these things don’t matter. Scarcity is not stronger than God’s sovereignty. His provision may not always look like the abundant life I’ve hoped for, but I’m learning that sometimes it is wisdom within my limitations. Peace can still come to me when the life I imagined is not the life I have received.

Lord, teach me to rest where I have been striving and trust You where I cannot understand. Amen

Then God said to Noah, “Go out from the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.”  Genesis 8:16  ESV

God shut the door to the ark, bringing finality to Noah’s time on land.  When he would put his feet on solid ground again, it would be on a new landscape.  After 100+ days in the ark, everyone on board was antsy to get off.  They had been shut up in a windowless world, thrashing to and fro with extreme weather.

As anxious as Noah was to exit the ark, he knew he had to wait for God’s permission.  To leave the safety of his wooden haven was to risk living on an earth that wasn’t ready for habitation.  The seeds he would plant there would rot in muddy soil.  When the dove brought a branch, it was a sign that the earth was fruitful again.

There is not much of a harvest in my life either when I move ahead of God and force things into place.  Only God can prepare the way in front of me and show me when to move at the right time.  I have known the frustration of trying to make things happen on my own.  I produced one Ishmael after another, and utter frustration was the result.  So was nagging insecurity.  I knew that God hadn’t led me and could not bless my path.  Getting older has taught me to wait for Him to release me from unpleasant conditions.

Someone wants to be a truth-teller to a family member today.  The seed will not be received if God has not prepared the soil of their heart.  Another wants to step out of a stressful place and start fresh by forcing circumstances to work.  A heavenly rhythm will not accompany their efforts and striving will bring exhaustion and futility.  Someone else wants to implement a God-given vision that has been simmering for years.  Tired of waiting, they will bring their vision to a people not ready to understand it nor recognize its source as God.  Misjudgment will result, bringing pain and rejection.

We must not leave the ark of safety until there is divine release.  God is a gracious Father who will give many confirmations that it’s time to move.

Oh, how I’ve learned the hard way that striving is not your way.  If the axe falls at just the right part in the grain of wood, without much effort at all, the wood will split.  Show me holy rhythm and timing.  Amen

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

For every performer, the stage is a life-long bedfellow. As a young pianist, then flutist, then singer, then Bible teacher, life on the stage has been second nature. Yet, along with it comes perpetual striving against the backdrop of spiritual immaturity. Performance is always accompanied by reviews and one’s life can easily be summed up by a long collection of others’ opinions. 

You were good or you were not. 

You were talented or you were not. 

You were a natural teacher or you were not. 

You were biblically sound or you were not. 

You were worth inviting back or you were not. 

Relentless evaluations.

Some time ago, I had a dream and woke up from it having heard these words. There is a current of grace, God’s grace, and when you find it ~ you can ride it, not fight it, by picking up your feet to be carried effortlessly by the Spirit.

Since that morning, I realized that somewhere along the way, my striving had ended. I learned how to find God’s current of grace on a stage, to think about those who were attending rather than myself, to think about tracking with God’s thoughts rather than my own. The stage became a platform to love others, to speak what they did not anticipate hearing, and to provide an environment where each can enter that sacred space where God speaks.

Writing a daily devotional is like taking the stage. But this morning, as you read this, I hope that you will be caught up with me into the current, that you will pick up your feet and be taken into the heart of God.

Jesus, let this current become so familiar that each of us will be startled when we put our feet down on the riverbed, only to find ourselves fighting against Your current. Make us aware and discontented to live that way. Amen