Fixed on Jesus

Recently I found myself reading Matthew 26.

If you’re familiar with that passage you know that before Jesus went to the cross, He went to a garden. And in that garden, He got on His knees and begged God to let the cup of suffering pass before Him. He begged God for another way to do what He needed to do. And not once, not twice, but three times, God didn’t respond, which ultimately was a “no.” 

My husband and I have been journeying through a season of infertility for the last three and a half years. And as you can imagine, I have begged and begged and begged God for a child. And month after month after month, the answer has been “no.”

For some reason as I read this account of Jesus also receiving a “no” from God (not once, but three times), I found myself thinking, “Oh, He gets it.”

He knows what it’s like to ask for relief from suffering and to be denied. 

And somehow, this brings me great hope.

Because there are many times I struggle to “run with endurance the race God has set before [me]” (Hebrews 12:1). Honestly, I don’t love this part of the race. But, knowing Christ has also endured suffering, believing that He did it because of the “joy set before Him,” gives me hope that I, too, can endure this present suffering believing that He is working even this for good (Romans 8:28).  

But the difference here is that Jesus experienced a pain and suffering far greater than anything I am being asked to endure. And as I read Scripture and study the life of Christ, I see more and more that Hebrews 4:15–16 is true. We serve a God who is able to empathize with us in every way. And that is especially true in our suffering. So why wouldn’t we fix our eyes upon, and even cling to, the One who gets it far more than anyone or anything else? 

We can endure knowing that Christ has gone before us and endured too. 

And this is our hope.

This Jesus, the One who was denied the cup passing before Him. The One who went to the cross, taking on my sin and your sin that once separated us from God. One who was literally hung on a cross with nails pierced in His hands and His feet. The One who was buried in a tomb.

This Jesus, He rose from the grave. He conquered sin and death, and restored our broken relationship with God so that our sin no longer separated us. In this Jesus we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sin.

And then He ascended into Heaven.

But one day this Jesus is coming back. And you know why that’s important for us today? Why we should be fixed on this Jesus? Because when this Jesus comes back, our broken bodies will be redeemed. Our broken relationships will be redeemed. Our failures and heartaches and sufferings will be redeemed. And there will be no more tears. One day He is coming back. And if you are in Christ, you will be fully healed.

That, friends, is our hope for today.

So, let’s fix our eyes and our gaze upon Jesus, so that we can run (or even crawl) with endurance the race God has set before us.