Read Daniel 9:25-26 and Galatians 1:3-5
“… the Anointed One will be cut off…” (Daniel 9:26)
What a disturbing message Daniel received from the archangel Gabriel. The long-awaited Messiah will come to Jerusalem for only a short time and then he will be “cut off” and Jerusalem itself will be destroyed along with the Holy Sanctuary. More than a hundred years earlier, Isaiah prophesied how the Anointed One would die. The Incarnate Son of God would be tortured, beaten, stripped naked, and nailed to a cross (Isaiah 53). His blood would be the atoning sacrifice demanded by a Holy God to cover our sin, purchasing our redemption.
This suffering servant, Jesus, who by His death gives us life, promises that we, as fellow heirs to the Kingdom, will also suffer in this life (Philippians 1:29). In our desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection we must enter the fellowship of sharing in His suffering (Philippians 3:10). This became very clear to me this past year as God invited me into His suffering — not severe, mind you, but nevertheless life-changing. The newly imposed solitude generated a renewed awareness of my sin, even an uncovering of sin that I did not know was living in the deep recesses of my heart. Times of deep sorrow, lamenting, confessing, and repenting necessarily followed.
In this fallen world there will always be times of sadness, particularly when life doesn’t play out the way we expected. We suffer losses, disappointments, and physical and emotional pain. But in these pitfalls we remember that all adversity comes to us through the loving fingers of a sovereign God. Mercifully Jesus guides us through our dark times and His resurrection power strengthens us to walk in newness of life, hand-in-hand with our King, through every circumstance of our lives, on our way home.
DIG DEEPER:
- What is the biggest distraction in your life that keeps you from pri- vately enjoying time with God?
Are you willing to let Him remove those distractions no matter what circumstance He chooses to use?
written by Dolores Blust
Recommended Posts
The Victory of Love
April 12, 2020
What Might Have Been
April 11, 2020
The Wonderful Reversal
April 10, 2020