Where Faith Meets Trials

You know those people who, when they make a mistake, they tend to let that mistake fester on their brain like a zombie, leaving them in a really depressing state? Yeah, me too. Especially since I’m a lot like that.

Growing up, my mom would constantly tell me I shouldn’t carry the weight of the world on my shoulders because it’s a pretty heavy burden (especially since the planet is ginormous). I’ve never really been a fan of failure. Whenever I’d strike out in little league, miss a shot in basketball or lose all my rings only to have a robot fish bite my nose resulting in a giant “GAME OVER” on the screen, I’d get pretty upset. To the point where, instead of learning from my mistakes, I let them eat at me from the inside.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t really gone away.

I was reading through Luke this morning about how the people that were so stoked about Jesus and telling all their friends about Jesus were now…wanting Jesus dead. I sat there wondering what in the world happened. These were some of the same people that Jesus healed. Or parents who were smiling as their children played games with Jesus. Or people who just enjoyed having a conversation with Jesus. And now, they wanted him dead? It just didn’t make sense!

It didn’t make much sense to the judges Jesus was brought to either. After finding Jesus not guilty, they told the people that they would just punish him a little and let him go. This didn’t go over too well with the angry mob. They began shouting that they trade Jesus for this guy who caused a riot and murdered people. I’m sitting there thinking, “Really? You people would rather have a murderer in your midst than Jesus”.

But then, as if looking into a mirror, I saw myself in that crowd. I began seeing all the times that I pushed Jesus away for what I thought was something better. All the times the thief who’s only job was to steal a person’s life, kill them and then destroy them whispered lies into my ear and led me away from the Shepherd who never stopped chasing after me to save my life.

That’s when the blows settled in. I sat there thinking of all the times I made a bad choice. All the times I could have ran away from temptation. All the times I should have led, both at an occupation and school. I could feel the weight of the world crushing me. As I raised a hand to beat myself again, another hand grabbed my fist. Then it hit me.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” //Romans 5:8

I began to see that all my slip-ups, mistakes and downfalls; God saw them too. Before they were really even a thought in my mind. And yet, He still sent Christ to die so that I wouldn’t have continue on that vicious cycle of making mistake, after mistake. So I wouldn’t have to continue listening to the thief’s lies but that I could listen to a sweeter song. And even when I’m about to make another bump in the road, because of Jesus and the cross, He’s there to lend a tire iron to fix the flat and to lend a hand to pick myself back up, dust my shoulders off and ask, “What can you learn from this” instead of beating myself up.

And he’s ready to do the same for you.

Something to think about.