Encouragement

THE CROSSES WE CARRY

by Christian Belyea
08/11/21
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     Crosses…

     They can be cumbersome and cutting to the core.

     Nevertheless, Jesus said, “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, pick up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

     But still, the crosses that we carry can be so painful. And they come in various forms: persecution, testing, temptations, trials, sorrow, pain—most of them Satan sent. But we give too much credit to the evil one, for he is on a short leash. Which means that he can only afflict God’s children if God says so, as is demonstrated in the Book of Job. And if God does say so, we can be sure something good will come out of it—for our eternal good and for God’s glory. For it is written, “All things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28).

     Crosses can also be laid upon us by God Himself in order to carve our character by our persevering through them. You see, character is important to God. He is constantly at work in making our character like that of his Son’s. And suffering produces character. It also forges our faith. As the Apostle Paul put it: “For whom God foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).

     But like I said, crosses, if we let them, can cast us into a pit of despair.

     This reminds me of a story. Perhaps you have heard it. Nonetheless, it bears repeating.

     There once was a young Christian who was carrying a cross he felt was overbearing. Then miraculously he was translated into the kingdom of heaven. There he met Jesus. After they embraced, Jesus asked him why he was so downcast. The young man sobbed, “My cross, LORD! It is too much to bear.” So, Jesus lovingly took the young man to a room full of crosses. There were jagged ones, rugged ones, and tear-stained ones, all different shapes and sizes. Jesus told the young man to set his cross down with the rest of the others. Then our LORD led the young man around heaven. As they walked the golden streets of glory the young man lamented until his tears were spent. Finally, they had come full circle and were standing at the room full of crosses. Lovingly, the LORD said, “Why don’t you pick a cross you think you can bear.” So the young man scanned the crosses until his eyes settled on one he thought he could stand. “That one, LORD!” He shouted exuberantly. “That one I can bear!” That’s when Jesus chuckled graciously, patted the young man on the shoulder, and said, “My child, that is the cross you came in with!”

     We can see then from this story that God will never allow us a cross that is too heavy to carry. He intimated this when he was informing his disciples about his impending crucifixion. He told them, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12).

     But it gets even better!

     God will help us bear our crosses. Remember that He told Isaiah, “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

     God also said the same thing to Joshua. He said, “Do not be afraid or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

     King David knew this and proclaimed, “Wait on the LORD. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14)!

     And how do we wait on the LORD? Why, we just abide in Christ. And how do we abide in Christ? Jesus said it is simple: “He who keeps My commandments shall abide in my love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10).

     So, we can clearly see that the crosses we are called to carry aren’t as cumbersome as we may sometimes consider them to be.

     How do I know all this? Because I was that young man, only I met Jesus in the pages of His Bible. I hope this message helps anyone who is feeling the heartache of carrying his or her cross. Blessings…

All Scriptural References are taken form the NKJV Bible, 1985