Sometimes I am extremely amazed at how The Holy Spirit guides my thinking. It has to be His guiding because I am not geared that way.
The other day I was thinking about how our struggles and afflictions sometimes feel overwhelming. The term "momentary light afflictions" kept coming to mind. It's from 2 Cor. 4
16Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
17For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,
18while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Somehow from there I began thinking about Jesus enduring the scourging and crucifixion. His Daddy, our Father, sent Him to go through that. Have you ever wondered how Abba felt watching His Son go through this? I thought about my kids and grandbabies and what I would feel if I had been asked to have them pay such a price. Everything within me rebels at that thought--at having them endure that, at me enduring that pain. Yet Abba Father GAVE His only begotten Son to pay for our sins.
We have all been crucified with Christ. Every illness any of us have ever dealt with, every pain we have ever had, every sin from Adam to the last human being was put on Jesus at His scourging and crucifixion. He felt every person's momentary light affliction, He endured them AND OVER CAME! He endured for the Joy sent before Him (2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.)
The joy is doing Daddy's will and receiving His reward. The joy is seeing those who would repent and bring honor and glory to God. The joy is knowing other's would walk in joy because He wants our joy to be full -- " These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. His desire isn't for us to be overwhelmed by our sins or by the negative happenings in our lives but for us to be full of joy. His desire is for us to joyfully overcome (His joy is our strength) Part of His mission statement is this section from Isaiah 61
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
It is up to you and me to decide to have this mindset. With the power of The Holy Spirit we will make that decision and our souls will rejoice, will praise and be so full of joy that nothing can shake us.
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