Seeing Jesus in Difficult Circumstances

“Now is My soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose, I have come to this hour.” John 12:27 ESV1

Read John 12:20-37

If you are reading this, you are either one of my faithful followers who reads nearly everything I write or you are going through a difficult time right now and you desperately want the powerful working of God in it. What I have to say here is Biblical but it may not be easy to swallow. I am not going to wallow with you in self-pity, feed your doubts, or allow you to blame God. But I will walk with you through a process that actually works. If I had not in the past and if I were not currently going through a difficult situation in this way, I would have no right to tell you what to do. But since I have and am traveling along a challenging path, I can offer you a helping hand. If you are ready to traverse this trail, let’s both get on our spiritual hiking boots and climb this mountain together.

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Search and Rescue

“If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine … and go in search of the one that went astray?” Matthew 18:12 ESV1

Read Matthew 18:1-14 & Luke 15:1-7

W. Phillip Keller, in his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, wrote, “The beautiful relationships given to us repeatedly in Scripture between God and man are those of a father to his children and a shepherd to his sheep. These concepts were first conceived in the mind of God our Father. They were made possible and practical through the work of Christ. They were confirmed and made real in me through the agency of the gracious Holy Spirit.”2 Mr. Keller continued, “It is no accident that God has chosen to call us sheep. The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways … Our mass mind (or mob instincts), our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance. Yet despite these adverse characteristics, Christ chooses us, buys us, calls us by name, makes us His own, and delights in caring for us.”3

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