40 Days of Easter 2011 Devotional for April 10

40 Days of Easter - April 10, 2011

Written by: Jim Wilburn (New York)

Taking Trials Head-On
Matthew 27:1-2
When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius[a] Pilate the governor.

The very people who should have embraced the Son of God the most had rejected Him. They were extremely offended by His preaching. He had called them hypocrites and vipers. He said they were blind and dead inside. He accused them of "leavening" the Holy Scriptures. Most offensive of all, He claimed to be the Christ.

It was not enough for these men to put Jesus through the humiliation of a trial. They sought for Him the harshest punishment available, death by crucifixion. They devised a plan to ensure that would happen and bound our Savior to take Him away.

At any time He could have said "enough?" "Peace! Be still."
At any time He could have called an angelic army to His aide.

But there was only one way for Him to pay the price for our sins. He could not run from this trial; He had to take it head-on. The eternal destiny of a countless multitude upon His shoulders, there was no turning back.

Sometimes the easiest thing to do when we encounter difficulty in life is to run away or quit, especially when we know that staying and pressing on will be painful. But Jesus' example shows us that some things truly are worth fighting for. In our age of convenience, we need to be reminded: no pain, no gain. And as we think of Jesus: His pain, our gain.

Up to this point in your life, what has been your most difficult trial?
Did God sustain you? In what way?

Dear God, give me strength to press forward in difficult times. In Jesus' Name, Amen.