Head: Know God's Word | Heart: Love God | Hands: Follow God's Way

Read John 18-19

Head

We are beginning our week in the book of John. John is written by - you guessed it - John. He was a cousin and close friend of Jesus. John wrote his book of the Bible to teach us and to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. Today’s reading was pretty tough and a little hard to get through. John 18 and 19 are all about Jesus being unfairly arrested, betrayed, made fun of, terribly hurt, beaten, left alone, and eventually killed. Many of the verses we read today are detailing Jesus’ suffering. It’s hard to think about terrible, hard things happening to Jesus, someone who we love so much and who is so, so good. Because of sin entering the world in Genesis, suffering, pain, and sadness all became a part of our life here on Earth - even for Jesus. An important thing to remember here, though, is that when you are going through hard times, hold on to the fact that Jesus understands your suffering.

Heart

Because of Jesus’ suffering, we know that He understands how we feel when we are hurt, when we feel sad, when we feel scared, and when we feel alone. When you are suffering, remember that He did, too. When you are lonely and scared, remember He experienced that as well, and because of that, we will never truly be alone in this world. When you feel weak, recall that He felt weakness upon the cross. The good news here is that just like Jesus’ suffering ended, yours will as well. In John 19:30, right before Jesus died, He said, “It is finished.” At that moment, Jesus’ suffering was complete. He had given up His life - for you and for me. Jesus’ suffering came to an end when He fulfilled God’s plan for Jesus to die for our sins. God had a plan for Jesus’ suffering. It was our salvation through Jesus! We can trust that God has a plan for your hard times, too. We don’t always understand God’s plan, and it may not be one that we would have picked for ourselves, but we can lean on God’s strength, and we can dwell in God’s peace, and we can trust God has a plan, even in our suffering.

Hands

The next time you are sad, scared, hurt, or suffering, remember that Jesus understands your suffering. Pray to Him for comfort and strength. Trust that He loves you and is with you during hard times. Believe that He has a plan for your life and will help you through your struggles.

Prayer: Dear God, You are so good, even when times are bad. Your plans for my life are better than I could imagine. Thank You for sending Jesus to be my Savior, my Comforter, my Redeemer. Help me to always turn to You when times are good and when times are hard. I love You, Lord. Amen.