Embracing Discomfort

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Luke 9:22–24 (KJV) "Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."

What it is speaking to me:

There is so much in these verses, but this morning I want to consider just one small element. Part of taking up our cross is to become like the Son of Man, who "must suffer many things." Now, I hope that taking up our cross today to follow Jesus doesn't involve real crucifixion. But the cross is an instrument of suffering — it was designed for that express purpose. So we should not be surprised that taking up our cross means we are going to experience some form of suffering. Maybe it's physical, emotional, or mental, or maybe a mix of all three.

Everyone's definition of suffering is slightly different, just as everyone's cross is different. My cross doesn't look exactly like your cross. So while our sufferings may be unique, the way we bear them isn't quite as unique. We bear our crosses the way Jesus did.

Jesus bore His cross without sinning, without complaining, without anger. He bore His cross with grace, with mercy, with understanding, with humility. I can't say that I bear mine quite meeting that bar. But I am challenged today to bear my burdens — the ones I know are coming and the ones I don't know about yet — with an attempt at grace and mercy, with understanding and humility.

Bearing a cross is uncomfortable; they are designed to be. But bearing them daily is part of losing our life daily, which in turn saves our life for eternity.

What is it saying to you?

What part of your cross makes you uncomfortable?

What part of your cross is difficult to bear?

How do you handle it?

What are you going to do about it?

Identify the specific burden or annoyance you need to "bear" with grace today, instead of complaining about it.