Embrace It, Don’t Avoid It
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I will admit that often – very often – I do everything I can to avoid suffering. I’ll say when a new hardship hits, “Oh, please God, not this, please!” I’m a little like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was facing an awful cross. He prayed, “Oh, my Father, if it’s possible, let this cup pass from me.” But the, moments later when soldiers came to arrest Him, Jesus said, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Wow! Do you hear the difference? Jesus no longer wanted to avoid the suffering; no, now, He was ready to unflinchingly embrace the suffering.
Friend, if you’re faced with unavoidable hardships, pray that if it is God’s will, He might remove it. But once you’ve prayed that, be willing to take up your cross and follow your Savior down the hard path to Calvary. He chose His cross so that you could embrace your cross with His power.
