Getting (and Staying) Beyond the Pain You Are Facing

Hebrews 12:2 (New King James Version)
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame
 and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 No believer is exempt from challenges in life. Some are less challenging than others, but they all have the potential to take a toll on our lives. Many believers truly believe that they have been delivered from the attack they are under, yet they are being challenged by the ongoing attacks that come before seeing victory. The question becomes, “How can I believe God’s Word for deliverance from my situation while undergoing the relentless attacks that come prior to the manifestation.”

As always, the Word tells us exactly how to do it, and not surprisingly, Jesus is at the center of the answer. Hebrews 2:12 tells us Jesus looked to the joy that was set before Him. The Passion Translation describes that joy in this manner…” His example was this: Because His heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be His, He endured the agony of the Cross…” The joy set before Jesus was that each one of us who would one day make Him the Savior and Lord of our lives. When He was hanging on the Cross, He was able to go beyond the suffering He was enduring and see the victory that would be achieved through His suffering.

There is a practical application of Jesus’ example that can help us when we are going through a challenge. We, too, must look beyond the pain of the moment to the “joy” that awaits us. What is that joy in any situation? It is the promises of God! There is a promise of God found in His Word for whatever challenge we may be going through.

We need to look beyond what we are going through to what we are going to.

We follow Jesus’ example by looking to the manifestation of our healing, deliverance, restoration, etc. Do a computer search to find scriptures pertaining to the challenge you are facing.  In doing that you are standing on the promise found in Psalm 27:13: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” It will be more difficult to get down-hearted when you have the promise of God for your situation before your eyes.

The joy Jesus focused on was the inheritance of countless sons and daughters coming into the Kingdom of God. We too must look to our inheritance – the countless promises of God – to help us get beyond our current challenges to receive the manifestation of the abundant life Jesus died to give us (John 10:10)! 

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