God Overcomes

The cross symbolizes so, so, so much. But there is one thing that has just crossed my mind. Ready, set, read!!

Okay, so Jesus(the perfect man, God's son, fully God and fully man) was sentenced to the most brutal death one can imagine! He was beat with over 100 lashes(over double what is considered automatic death), he then is spit on, crowned by thorns (are you joking?? Could you imagine the pain?!), forced to carry an extremely heavy cross for miles and miles through a village of mocking people. He was spit at some more, punched, kicked, thrown to the ground, dirt kicked in his face, and received very gruesome taunts. Then after all of that was nailed to a cross, I said nailed to a cross!! Had nails hammered into both wrists and then had his ankles nailed together! Do you have any idea the pain it would be to receive nails through your flesh, nerves, tendons, muscles, bones? I don't want to know that pain.

Oh, and did I mention that this whole time He had the power to end all of this?? To end all the pain, to end all the torture! But He loved us SOO much that he didn't even NUMB a single nerve. He didn't numb out a single ounce of pain! He felt every single whip to his back, every nail, glass shard, and more that ripped his skin off, felt every single kick, felt every thorn to his head, felt the pain of carrying the cross, along with carrying every burden of every man, of every female to ever (I said EVER!) walk this earth(whether that be Adam, Eve, Abraham, Moses, Napoleon, Henry V, Shakespeare, Hitler, Stalin, me, you, and every single person that hasn't even yet been born).

Back to the point. Actually, all of this is the point.

All of this was put onto Jesus, the perfect man, the son of God, fully God and fully man. And what happens after all of this? He conquers death, yes I said conquers death!! Have you ever heard of a man who has been dead for three days, thrown in a tomb, had his heart stopped, no food, no water, no oxygen and then all of a sudden, three days later (BAM!) he's walking around completely alive? Nope, just Jesus! Could you imagine the power it would take to bring a man back from the dead? That is an insane amount of power and strength! But who has that strength? Oh, that's right GOD!!! God has the power, has the strength, and has the love to do so!!

So, if God was willing to put the perfect man, the son of God, fully God and fully man to death just so He could overcome it, then why should we ever be discouraged? Why should we ever fear? Why should we ever doubt?

We so quickly allow ourselves to get down when things aren't going completely as we planned. Well, next time you feel discouraged just remember this: God put Jesus through all of that so He could use Him to overcome death. So, what makes you think he won't use you to overcome whatever that obstacle in your life may be?