Seeing the Victory Hidden in Our Trials

Luke 18:34

But they understood none of these things.

In the Gospel of Luke, we read how the apostles were told in advance about all the suffering that their Master was about to endure.  They were told the details concerning His coming crucifixion and they were told about His glorious rising from the grave on the third day.  Yet they understood none of these things.

The apostles did not understand because they could only see failure in Jesus' destiny.  They could only feel the heartbreak of losing their teacher.  They could only visualize their promised King.  They could not visualize their suffering Savior.  They could not see that God considered it all a tremendous triumph.  They could not see that they would soon show the world the way, the truth and the life that Jesus had come to show them.

The most difficult thing about understanding the purpose that God has for our lives is that we are quick to seek God's blessings, but we are slow to realize that God is in sovereign control.   We are baffled by our trials.  We allow them to hold off our calling in Christ, because we only see ourselves in our trials and we do not see Almighty God who is working out all things for His purposes.

We will move forward in our calling when we look forward to each day without fear or worry.  We will become who God calls us to be when we are in communion with Him and recognize the He is taking us into His purposes.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have a perfect plan for our lives.  We bless the name of Jesus Christ, who made it possible for us to fulfill the plans that You have set aside for us.  We pray, Lord, that You will open our eyes so that we may see past the sorrows in our lives.  We pray that You will open our hearts in communion with You so that we may see the triumph that You have planned for us.  May we live our lives without fear, knowing that we are in Your hands, living according to Your purposes.  May it all be for Your glory, the glory of Jesus and the glory of the Holy Spirit.  We ask all these things in the name of the Strength of Our Lives, Jesus Christ.