For this we have Jesus

You know I’ve never been a fan of conflict, confrontation or altercations.

That’s never been something I crave. I will work my way around confrontation if I can.

I avoid it at all costs but sometimes it seems like the devil is on all sides.

Coming at you from every which way! Like there is no way out. The only way out is through him.

That’s why Paul said, “put on the whole armor of God so that we may stand against the wiles of the devil.”

When it feels like the enemy has you pinned in remember Who said, “He is the Way”!

He is our way out! The only way! We need Jesus! In everything we encounter we need Jesus! When it feels almost overwhelming remember, we are troubled on every side yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed!

God said, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

We need Jesus! Sometimes we must go through things. Sometimes we must endure confrontations.

These days were written about. Perilous days, the beginning of sorrows.

You’ve heard of the proverb - when the going gets tough, the tough get going?

Well, my mom’s proverb is “for this I have Jesus!” No matter if it’s a tragedy or a challenging time in our lives, for this we have Jesus!

For the joys and for the sorrows and the best and worst of times, for this we have Jesus!

For the tears that flow in secret and in the broken times, for the moments of elation or the troubled mind, for this we have Jesus!

For all the disappointments and sting of old regrets, all your prayers and longings that seem unanswered yet, for this we have Jesus!

For the weakness of in your body and the burdens of each day, for the nights of doubt and worry, when sleep has fled away, for this we have Jesus!

God never promised that the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb!

But He said help would always come in time! For this we have Jesus!

We aren’t exempt from pain, difficulties and struggles just because we are saved.

But God allows us to experience these things for reasons sometimes known only to Him but it’s never for our hurt. It’s never for our destruction.

It’s quite the opposite! We learn in suffering, we grow in suffering, we mature spiritually in suffering, we experience a deeper connection to God in suffering.

He’s not called the Comforter for nothing! There are no testimonies without tests. You see the devil wants us to believe we are suffering because of something we did.

Something we aren’t catching onto. Something God will never forgive us for.

But the devil is a liar! He is a deceiver! He is the father of lies!

The devil will tell you, “You are the reason for your suffering, you are the reason God has left you in this chaotic situation, you are the reason it’s been years since He told you He would heal you and hasn’t, you’re the reason His promises for you have been prolonged!

But God is working all things together for our good! Thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end!

Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

For every trial, we have Jesus! For every tribulation, we have Jesus! For every pain, we have Jesus! For every tear drop, we have Jesus!

It’s not easy to be of good cheer when we are in states of suffering. It’s not easy to rejoice in times of suffering. It’s not easy to praise the Lord in times of suffering.

But for this we have Jesus! Peter said, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice, in as much as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

I’ll take exceeding joy! “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”

We will experience suffering but for this we have Jesus!

You want to talk about suffering?

Read the Book of Job. Job lost everything he had. His children, health, wealth, servants and animals.

And after all that he lost the Bible says, “Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped.”

He worshipped in a time of great sorrow. How many of us could do the same? God uses suffering to teach us sometimes. He uses suffering to strengthen our faith, foster dependence on Him, bring Him glory and help others who are going through the same struggle.

In every part of our suffering we can say, “for this we have Jesus!”

Trust in the Lord! Let Him lead you! Call on His Name! He is good and faithful! He is our only hope in this chaotic world! For this we have Jesus!

Lamentations 3:32 says, “Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to the abundance of his faithful love.”

Praise the Lord for His abundant, faithful love! But why is suffering such an integral part of our walk with Christ?

It is through suffering that we truly understand the depth of God’s grace and the power of His transforming work in our lives.

It is in the midst of trials that our faith is refined and strengthened.

For this we have Jesus! Suffering is a reminder that we are not of this world. We are just passing through.

Waiting to go to a place where there is no pain, torment or suffering.

We have been bought with a price and belong to God. And if He allows us to endure hardships, it is for a greater purpose that we may not fully see in this lifetime.

For this we have Jesus! Peter said, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

What a great promise! To be perfected, strengthened and established by the Lord!

When the devil says you and your family aren’t strong enough tell him “for this we have Jesus!”