Monday, November 17, 2014

The Grind of Life

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2-3 NIV)

There is a lot of weariness on campus these days.  The answer to “Are you ready for Thanksgiving Break?” is always a resounding “Yes!”  A life of classes, papers, and tests wears students down over the course of a semester.  It is a lesson for life in general.

Post-college life can also wear us down.  There are the eight, ten, or 12-hour workdays and no three-month long summer breaks.  There are the stresses of finances in tough economic times.  There are the sleepless nights with sick children and the stress that comes with raising them into adulthood.  Add to that any number of possible crises that may arise along the way and even a good life can wear on us.

Weariness is something we will often have to deal with throughout our lives.  And the Hebrew writer has a simple solution in how to cope—look to Jesus.  Don’t try to handle it yourself; fix your eyes on Jesus. Look to Him for encouragement and strength.  

The context of the writer’s directive is persecution.  Followers of Jesus were suffering in many ways for their faith.  The writer knew the difficulty of their struggle and knew they were weary.  While you may not be suffering persecution for you your faith, his principle still applies.  The grind of life can best be handled by focusing on Jesus.

It is always easy when we are tired to focus on our immediate circumstances.  Problems become bigger and bigger as we grow more weary.  They can seem overwhelming.  That is why we need to take our eyes off our struggles and fix them on Jesus.  He proved He could handle any struggle and has promised to overcome ours (John 16:33).

Are you weary of the grind of life?  Then know Jesus is there to strengthen and encourage you.  What you have to do is fix your eyes on Him.  

© Jim Musser 2014

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