The Hidden Power of the Cross
Jesus didn’t just suffer for us, he suffers with us. Hidden in the power of the cross is the grace and the power to endure suffering. It’s hidden because it’s not something that comes to the believer automatically, nor can it be accessed through mere cognitive understanding. Rather, it must be sought of the Lord in humility and faith, as we draw near to Jesus and yield to his love.
For the power of the cross is his great, deep, vast, immeasurable, steadfast love for us. It’s something that cannot be grasped with the mind, but must be experienced through the Holy Spirit.
No one wants to suffer. Most people aren’t interested in finding the grace to endure suffering; they’d prefer to avoid it entirely. While God does bring healing and deliverance, escaping suffering altogether is generally not an option in this lifetime.
Yet Jesus willingly left the perfection of heaven, where there is no pain or sorrow, to come to earth and suffer and die on the cross so that we might be set free from sin and death, and have eternal life in his name. As we learn to find his love, grace and healing in the midst of our own sorrows, this empowers us, in turn, to bring love, hope, life, and healing to those who don’t know him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows.Isaiah 53:4
