Bring
Your Struggling
to the Cross
Written by Jack Hayford
“And
He said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away
from Me; nevertheless, not what I will but what You will.’”
–
Mark 14:36
There is a relationship between struggling and
character. The Cross is the Holy Spirit’s primary instrument for shaping our
character.
.
The events in Gethsemane represent a Man who,
although the sinless Son of God and aware that what He asked for wasn’t why He
was there—still cries out for reprieve from the Cross.
.
Jesus wasn’t seeking to escape His responsibility.
He was struggling with the horrendous pressure of a situation any human being
would rather avoid.
.
It isn’t cowardice or rebellion. It was a Human Being
experiencing His life’s purpose hammered out on an anvil of circumstance, and
it was going to cost Him His life.
.
He was asking if it could be worked out another
way.
We’ve all gone through tough times in which we’ve
said to God, “I
don’t want this to happen to me.”
.
Under those pressures, many abandon their
availability to the process, but Jesus didn’t.
.
Character is the willingness to do the right thing
when everything around you is going wrong.
We each face at some time in life a pivotal moment
that arises from the commitment we’ve made to the Lord’s way, even though
everything in us screams for our own way.
.
It involves a kind of dying, a surrender of things.
Our serve-your-own-interest society argues against this surrender.
.
Apart from a careful assessment of Jesus and His
approach to the Cross, this same self-gratification creeps into the lives of
believers and crumbles the foundations of many who end up far removed from what
the Lord has created them to be in Him.
.
God wants to do a redemptive
work through you
God is not just building your
character, but as He did with His Son, God is seeking to work something
redemptive through you.
.
It will cost you to become an instrument of
redemption. When it’s over, anything you thought you were losing will be fully
recovered, plus more than you can imagine.
.
As Jesus went to the Cross, considering the cost to
Himself, He was not asking for a way out on His own terms—the terms are
Scriptural: Father,
all things are possible to You.
.
We often miss the fact that within Jesus was both
the eternal God and a Human Being.
.
His sinlessness is not altered by this encounter,
but His humanness is screaming out loud in Gethsemane.
.
Unless we can capture a reality of what was spoken
three times by Jesus, we won’t understand how entirely acceptable it is to God
when your heart cries out in struggles and looks for a way out.
.
Learning how to bring our struggling to Christ’s
Cross is to recognize that there’s nothing of your struggle that is unwelcome
in Heaven or unwilling to be heard by the Father.
.
Identifying with Jesus’ struggle is recognizing
that He is bringing His agony before the Father.
.
When we have a struggle, many times we opt to
manage it in a way other than the will of God. The struggle isn’t brought to
the Lord.
.
We don’t say, “Father if this is possible…”
.
We say, “Father, this is impossible, and so I’ll
just do it my own way.”
.
Such is the way of the flesh to try and find
justification before God for our doing it our own way rather than saying, “Lord,
I’ll come the way of the Cross.”
..
Intimacy and willingness
Two things bookend bringing our struggle to the
Cross, intimacy
of relationship and trust and willingness to surrender.
.
The intimacy of relationship is found in Jesus’
opening words of this prayer: “Abba, Father.”
.
They describe His trust in and availability to the
Father, and His readiness to reach up and take “Daddy’s” hand for support.
.
If there were another way, would not our Heavenly
Father have delighted in sending 10,000 angels to rescue His Son from this
moment?
.
But there was no other way.
.
When the only way out is through, are you still
able to call God “Daddy”?
.
Your character provides the answer. You will say “No,” unless your character has been shaped by
Calvary.
.
“Nevertheless not what I will, but what You will” are not words of
resignation. They are words of intimate trust and willing commitment.
.
Outbreak and overflow
There are times in our lives
when everything argues for another course, but deep in the integrity of your
heart you know that isn’t the Father’s way.
.
The living Jesus, who has come to forgive us and
save us, comes to live in us to give us the same strength of character He had.
.
Having made the choice of the Cross and paid the
price of that struggle, two things were unleashed: the outbreak of redemption
and the revelation of eternal life and glory.
.
Because Jesus chose the Father’s will, full
redemption and salvation broke open on this planet.
.
Three days later came a manifest, explosive
breakthrough of life crushing the power of hell and, for all time, opening the
gates of glory to the redeemed.
.
Bring your struggling to the Cross
Whenever you and I bring our struggling to the Cross and opt for the Father’s way rather than our own, an outbreak of God’s redemptive purposes is made possible.
.
You can’t imagine the impact your submission to His way will have in the redemption of other people. You are not their Savior, but you’re an instrument of His saving grace.
.
When we bring our struggling to the cross in obedience, we experience a glorious outbreak of His resurrection blessing in our own souls, and also experience it flowing through and beyond us.
God’s authority causes anger or fear in individuals who refuse to yield to Him.
But those who have experienced His lovingkindness, trusted in His goodness, and surrendered to His authority take comfort in knowing Him as the Lord of their lives.
Submit to Christ’s rule over your life now and enjoy the freedom and peace under God. Say this prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward.
Thank You that according to Your Word, I am now born again.
Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study Your Word – the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen.”
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lyrics
As I look back
On what I thought was living
I'm amazed at the price
I choose to pay
And to think I ignored
What really mattered
'Cause I thought the sacrifice
Would be too great
But when I finally reached
The point of giving in
I found the cross
Was calling even then
And even though
It took dying to survive
I've never felt so much alive
For I am crucified with Christ
And yet I live
Not I but Christ
That lives within me
His Cross will never ask for more
Than I can give
For it's not my strength but His
There's no greater sacrifice
For I am crucified with Christ
And yet I live
As I hear the Savior
Call for daily dying
I will bow beneath
The weight of Calvary
Let my hands surrender
To His piercing purpose
That holds me to the cross
Yet sets me free
I will glory in
The power of the cross
The things I thought were gain
I count as loss
And with His suffering
I identify
And by His resurrection power
I am alive
For I am crucified with Christ
And yet I live
Not I but Christ
That lives within me
His Cross will never ask for more
Than I can give
For it's not my strength but His
There's no greater sacrifice
For I am crucified with Christ
And yet I live
And I will offer all I have
So that His cross is not in vain
For I found to live is Christ
And to die is truly gain
For I am crucified with Christ
And yet I live
Not I but Christ
That lives within me
His Cross will never ask for more Than I can give
For it's not my strength but His
There's no greater sacrifice
For I am crucified with Christ
And yet I live
For I am crucified with Christ
And yet I live
And yet I live
http://www.jackhayford.org/teaching/articles/bring-your-struggling-to-the-cross/
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