Hebrews 5: 8 (NKJV)
"though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered."
Philippians 2: 8 (NKJV)
"And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
The truth is that when we are going through sufferings, we don’t always find it easy to obey God. When we are in the heat of hardships, trials, tribulations and opposition, enduring long standing challenges, it is easy to cave in and no longer obey God. We can sometimes begin to think, is there any point in obeying God and doing His will. We can move into self-management mode, where we do what we want to alleviate what we are going through in whichever way even if it sometimes mean go against God’s will.
In our scripture this week, we read that our Lord Jesus learnt through His sufferings to be obedient. In all he had to go through He learnt that obeying God was the most important thing. That is why we are told in Matthew 26: 39 and 42
“He went a little farther on, threw himself face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want.”
“Once more Jesus went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup of suffering cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.”
It takes grit, grace, and a genuine love for, and fear of God to keep obeying Him when you are going through a multitude of problems. Even when we go through difficulties, God still wants us to be obedient just like Jesus was. Our sufferings are not to derail us and cause us to go against God. They are to pull us towards even when we are going through the fire. God wants us by His grace to continue to do the right thing and obey Him. This shows we really trust Him. Christ’s sufferings were enormous, even to the point of death itself, but He never gave up. He obeyed and followed through with the will of God for His life.
I pray that special grace of God for obedience will be released to you and I in all our sufferings in Jesus name. Amen.