Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…

“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.  So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”…
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”
John 12: 12-13 & 27-28 (ESV)

So what do you do when you can’t do anymore?

How do you move forward when your legs are too tired to move?

What’s next when you’ve fallen and failed again at something at which you thought you would be good?

What do you do when you look into tomorrow, and it seems all hope is gone?

“Geez, Scott,” you might be thinking as we begin, “nice questions to start out the week!”  And I would suspect that if any of those feelings applied to you now or recently, perseverance would not be one of your first responses.

The journey we are on together is one-of-a-kind, with each of us uniquely created by the God of the universe to travel the path before us.  Created unlike anyone who has ever been, is now or ever will be.  And we often face situations which cause us to feel at a loss as to what to do next or what to hope for next.

When that happens, it may help us, to look at One who has been there.

The scripture above paints the picture of Christ as He enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday—our remembrance of which is fast approaching as we sit here today.
As He entered the city the people proclaimed:  “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

They were excited.  The long-awaited Messiah had finally come to save the day, replace the Roman rulers and take charge over their lives.  The conquering hero.  But Christ knew what would really happen.  He knew that within a few days His journey through town and His ministry among them would end with His hanging on the cross.

And His response?  Does he wonder how He can get out of that mess?  Does he focus on His plight?  No.  He perseveres.  And not only that, but a look at verses twenty-seven and twenty-eight above, again, tells us something more about Christ’s approach to what is before Him:

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’?
But for this purpose I have come to this hour.  Father, glorify your name.”

In the most despairing of moments in His life and ministry, Christ did not ask: “How can I get out of this?” but instead He asked:  “How can God’s name be glorified in this?”

Easy enough for Him to say, you say.  God’s Son!

But think about it.  We’ve discussed before that God always knows where we are, always is with us, and will use us and mold us into more—right where we are.  We know that God will work out everything for good.  Romans 8: 28.  And when we look back on our lives we can see time and time again where He has done that.

So what do you do when you can’t do anymore, or when your legs are too tired to move forward, or you have fallen and failed one too many times, and as you look into  tomorrow, it seems that all hope is gone?

Let me suggest, in any of those moments, you remember that God has you right where He wants you, He is with you, and He will work out whatever you and He are facing or are in the middle of for good, and even more, that though it all—He will be glorified.

Did Jesus ask that His Father save Him from the moment He faced?  No.  Instead, Jesus desired that God be glorified through it!

And with that same attitude, we too can persevere.

In His Name—Scott

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