Betrayed. Delivered to His enemies. He is blindfolded. Beaten. Stripped down to nothing. Clothed in a scarlet robe; a twisted crown of thorns placed upon his head and a staff in his right hand. Spit at. Mocked. Shouts ring out… “Hail King of the Jews!” Despite the repeated, violent blows to His head with the staff He remains silent to His abusers. And, when they are done He is stripped again, returned to His own clothing and led to the Place of the Skull. Nails pierce His skin. His blood spills. They crucify Him. He bellows out a loud, massive cry, releases His Spirit and breathes His last breath.
I’ll be honest. Rejection takes me down. I want everyone to like me, but sometimes they just don’t. I am all too familiar with the quiet brush off and the sting of being cut-off.
Have you been there?
If I even suspect this is happening I tend to slip into the insecurity of my flesh and dwell there. And, when I deal with this discomfort in every way except laying it at the feet of Jesus I become overwhelmed and completely absorbed with poor, poor me. I minimize His death. I forget that I am the “why” behind it.
When I reflect on the torture He endured on my behalf it puts my painful earthly rejection in it's proper place of insignificance. He gently reminds me… again, that it’s not about me. Truth is, I know nothing about rejection except for what Satan sells me and what my flesh tells me and I’m not buying it any more…
I will reject the lies of the enemy when he tries to corrupt my identity.
I will turn my head from what consumes me and trust my heart to the One who loves me.
I will stop trying to protect myself in vain and flee to the refuge of Him who was slain.
I will keep my eyes fixed on eternity instead of being lost in my insecurity.
Will you join me?
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
Isaiah 43:2
No comments:
Post a Comment