I Will Suffer. Lesson 12 of 40

Jesus had a cross that He had to carry.  The cross is symbolic of the suffering that one must go through.

For today’s lesson I have learned that I can’t insulate myself against suffering, but I CAN CONTROL my response to it.  My pain may be different from yours but the reality of living in a fallen world makes experiencing pain inevitable. I don’t have to deny the pain that is associated with the cross I have to carry but that pain doesn’t have to consume me either.  How is that possible you ask? While I will have seasons of difficulty, I have found that I can go through it with grace.  Not in my own strength but drawing strength from God through prayer.  Listen, Prayer is where it’s at.

Prayer Helps me to have the mind of Christ when the heaviness of my cross makes me feel like I’m about to loose my mind.

Prayer stabilizes me and gives me the ability to mount up with wings as an eagle when the weight of my cross makes me feel like I am going to faint.

Prayer gives me faith to believe that it will get better when everything in my sight says it is O.V.E.R.

I’m not talking about the kind of prayer that you just say in cases of emergency with no sincerity.  This is not the get out of jail free kind of prayer.  I am talking about prayer where you bare your soul before God and ask Him to transform you and make you more like Him.  In this kind of prayer, you are not the only one talking. You stick around long enough to hear His response, and that’s if you talk at all.  This is not a one-time  give me what I want or else kind of prayer.  Instead it’s a consistent everyday kind of prayer, one that builds intimacy between you and the one that will give you the strength to carry your cross.

What cross do you find yourself carrying in this season of your life?  Is it health challenges, broken relationships, deflated finances, etc.  Are you attempting to carry that cross on your own or have you gotten to that place of real prayer?  Leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Be Blessed,

Anika

1 Peter 5:10

In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.