A bigger picture

Hello everyone --- How are you doing on this day? I hope well and bubbling in the Lord. Of Jesus it is written: Primary Text “When He was reviled and insulted, He did not revile or offer insult in return; [when] He was abused and suffered, He made no threats [of vengeance]; but He trusted [Himself and everything] to Him Who judges fairly.” 1 Peter 2v23 (AMP) The normal human reaction when we are insulted or threatened is almost to give tit for tat. I mean we can let people have it. Especially if they are not bigger than us, we are can really “show” them. But we thank God for the Spirit of God in us who begins to change us from the inside out, and we find after a while that our reaction to situations becomes more Christ like. It is good to know that our Lord Jesus went through such insulting and threatening situations that we can learn from. How did He react? What did He do? Jesus saw the bigger picture. There was a reason He was weighed down with sorrows, and pierced, and beaten, and whipped (see Isaiah 53v2-5 below). And so He endured the cross, despising the shame (Hebrews 12v2). Believer, remember Romans 8v28 (AMP): “We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.” Supplementary Text “My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him. He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” Isaiah 53v2-5 (NLT) Father, I thank You for Your Word. I thank You for the times of persecution, trials, and temptations we face as believers. Father we pray that You will help us to remember that You are with us through it, that Your ways are not our ways neither are Your thoughts our thoughts, and that You will help us to see the bigger picture in Jesus name, amen.