Take Up Your Cross – Trusting God When Life Gets Hard

It’s so much easier to have faith in God when life moves forward as expected. It’s during times of confusion and frustration that we tend to struggle. We are moving along life’s road at a nice clip, full of warm feelings, and then we hit something unexpected. These times reveal the truth about what’s in our heart. Those who trust God completely will take up their cross and follow Him despite the fact that they may not understand. They are concerned about God’s interests and not their own.

I am amazed at how I can be so full of faith in one moment and then be in full panic mode the next. I may spend a precious hour reading God’s word in the morning and leave the house walking on the air of faith I expect will carry me through the day. But no sooner do I step out the kitchen door than I am faced with a frustrating or upsetting situation that I can’t understand.  In the blink of an eye my good feelings dissipate into thin air, and I find myself falling into the old patterns of discouragement or fear.

 Peter’s Predicament

I am not alone with this predicament. When Jesus and His disciples took a retreat to the northern border of Israel and Jesus questioned the disciples about His identity, Peter rose to the occasion. With confidence he proclaimed Jesus “the Christ the Son of the living God.” Peter’s statement of faith pleased Jesus, and I imagine he floated along on Cloud Nine as Jesus affirmed and commended the truth that only God the Father could have revealed to him.

Yet, within moments, Peter spoke again revealing that his heart wasn’t quite where it needed to be. As Jesus shared God’s plan with His closest followers –  that He would soon suffer, die and rise again on the third day –  Peter balked. Wait a minute! This isn’t how things are supposed to go! “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

Jesus did not let Peter’s misplaced correction slip by, but immediately confronted his lack of understanding. “Get behind Me, Satan!” Jesus rebuked, “You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

Peter believed that Jesus was the Son of God, but he didn’t understand God’s plan for salvation. To him it seemed strange and repulsive that Jesus would suffer and die, but God knew this was the only way to save sinful mankind.

 Take Up Your Cross

Jesus went on to explain that just as He had to suffer, so every disciple would also need to take up his cross and follow. Those who wished to save their lives would lose them, but whoever would lose their lives for His sake would find them. There would be no profit in gaining the whole world if you lost your soul.

Poor Peter! He was truly a work in progress just as we all are. There are so many things we do not understand because God’s ways are not our ways. Neither are His thoughts our thoughts. Yet, in the midst of our confusion we can be sure that God knows what He is doing.

Our goal is to lay aside our own interests and follow Him fearlessly, assured that we can trust Him no matter what.

Today may be the day that produces a situation or circumstance you don’t quite understand, but you don’t need to panic. Take up your cross, press on in faith, and trust the God Who knows exactly what He’s doing!