Daily Scripture: John 16:28 “I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and returning to the Father.”
29 The talmidim said to him, “Look, you’re talking plainly right now, you’re not speaking indirectly at all. 30 Now we know that you know everything, and that you don’t need to have people put their questions into words. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 Yeshua answered, “Now you do believe. 32 But a time is coming — indeed it has come already — when you will be scattered, each one looking out for himself; and you will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone; because the Father is with me.
33 “I have said these things to you so that, united with me, you may have shalom. In the world, you have tsuris. But be brave! I have conquered the world!”
17:1 After Yeshua had said these things, he looked up toward heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you —
Reflection Questions:John wrote that, on the night before he went to the cross, Jesus told his followers, “In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.” He began his prayer (chapter 17) remarkably, saying, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son.” Until we stop to reflect, we may completely miss the fact that “the time has come” pointed to the cross as the setting in which God would “glorify” Jesus.
- Many people in Jesus' day, and in ours, think (perhaps subconsciously) that “being good” should be a kind of “suffering insurance.” Jesus didn’t see it that way. How do you react to his honest words: “In the world you have distress”? How can you live into the flip side of his teaching—to “be encouraged” because he’s overcome the world?
- About twelve hours later, on the cross, Jesus quoted Psalm 31:5 (“Father, into your hands I entrust my life”). That Psalm ended with the words, “All you who wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage.” How can Jesus' trust in God even during a horrible execution shape your perspective on whatever suffering comes into your life?
Lord Jesus, help me, even when I can’t fully know the “why” of whatever suffering I face, to know the “who”—you!—who is with me, and who sustains me and gives me hope. Amen.Insights from Janelle Gregory
Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as a Human Resources Specialist.
Tortured hostages, child slaves, crippling diseases, and natural disasters. Our news is packed full of story after story of true, excruciating suffering. It can be horrifying and almost too much to comprehend at times.
I look at my own life compared to say that of a hurricane survivor or the parent of a dying child, and I have nothing to complain about. There are times when my life dips into dark places, but for the most part, I’m doing pretty great. I’ve got a wonderful family, we’re pretty healthy, we haven’t lost our house or our jobs. My “suffering” is nothing compared to that of others.
And if suffering were a game of comparisons, this would be absolutely true. But as a wise friend once told me: If on the way to being burned at the stake, Joan of Arc had been stung by a bee, she still would have said “Ouch!” My friend had a good point.
While I don’t think it’s good to complain all of the time, I believe it can be equally as bad to squelch the grief or pain we experience. We may try to bury our hurts for multiple reasons – perhaps we don’t want to seem weak, maybe we don’t want to be a bother, or we feel the need to be perpetually optimistic. More often than not, we think that the pain will go away if we just ignore it.
Nobody wants to be in pain, do they? Of course not!
There are very few emotions as intense as pain. Rage and lust may come close, but they also come with a whole host of other factors that cloud our judgement. But wounds to the soul are powerful. They cut through the comfortable life we’ve built to protect us and strip away layers of self-assurance.
But in this vulnerability, it would be foolish of us not to recognize the gift that pain brings us. I truly believe we are always in desperate need of God. Suffering is that ray of light that illuminates this fundamental truth. It shows us that we rely on a Savior. It heightens our awareness and allows us to feel the closeness of the heart of God, bringing us into communion with our Lover and Creator. When we come to the Lord, broken and in agony, he is there to hold us, walk with us through the shadows, and remind us that his love conquers all.
So while we may never run to pain, we should be hesitant to run from it as well. When we hurt, it is a chance to experience the soothing comfort of our compassionate Lord. His mercy is a balm to our souls, filling us and renewing us. With our wounds exposed, he draws us close and reminds us that we are his child. He will never let us go.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Tortured hostages, child slaves, crippling diseases, and natural disasters. Our news is packed full of story after story of true, excruciating suffering. It can be horrifying and almost too much to comprehend at times.
I look at my own life compared to say that of a hurricane survivor or the parent of a dying child, and I have nothing to complain about. There are times when my life dips into dark places, but for the most part, I’m doing pretty great. I’ve got a wonderful family, we’re pretty healthy, we haven’t lost our house or our jobs. My “suffering” is nothing compared to that of others.
And if suffering were a game of comparisons, this would be absolutely true. But as a wise friend once told me: If on the way to being burned at the stake, Joan of Arc had been stung by a bee, she still would have said “Ouch!” My friend had a good point.
While I don’t think it’s good to complain all of the time, I believe it can be equally as bad to squelch the grief or pain we experience. We may try to bury our hurts for multiple reasons – perhaps we don’t want to seem weak, maybe we don’t want to be a bother, or we feel the need to be perpetually optimistic. More often than not, we think that the pain will go away if we just ignore it.
Nobody wants to be in pain, do they? Of course not!
There are very few emotions as intense as pain. Rage and lust may come close, but they also come with a whole host of other factors that cloud our judgement. But wounds to the soul are powerful. They cut through the comfortable life we’ve built to protect us and strip away layers of self-assurance.
But in this vulnerability, it would be foolish of us not to recognize the gift that pain brings us. I truly believe we are always in desperate need of God. Suffering is that ray of light that illuminates this fundamental truth. It shows us that we rely on a Savior. It heightens our awareness and allows us to feel the closeness of the heart of God, bringing us into communion with our Lover and Creator. When we come to the Lord, broken and in agony, he is there to hold us, walk with us through the shadows, and remind us that his love conquers all.
So while we may never run to pain, we should be hesitant to run from it as well. When we hurt, it is a chance to experience the soothing comfort of our compassionate Lord. His mercy is a balm to our souls, filling us and renewing us. With our wounds exposed, he draws us close and reminds us that we are his child. He will never let us go.
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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