Have you ever tried to do the right thing only to be misunderstood and even abandoned?
It’s not easy to stand for truth, to defend righteousness, and to ultimately desire peace.
I’ve walked a broken road or two in my life and it’s painful. Not everyone is going to understand or see where you’re coming from. Not everyone is gifted with the ability to extend grace and mercy.
So what do we do when there seem to be no answers?
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It’s difficult to read of the way He suffered on that momentous day more than two thousand years ago. His accusers labeled Him unjustly. He was humiliated, tortured, mocked, and stripped bare. He was treated no better than an animal. He offered no defense as He stood before the Roman authorities who’d arrested Him. As the song says, “He could have called ten thousand angels…” Yet, He chose to die willingly as the ultimate sacrifice for sin–past, present, and future. He hung there quietly enduring a heinous death.
My suffering is no comparison, and neither is yours, though it may be horrific. History has recorded the life and death of Jesus and His purpose for dying. Our lives are but a dot on the timeline of eternity, however, we have a role to play right now in how we live and die.
Jesus is my example of how to handle defeat, betrayal, loss, anger, and every other emotion known to man. Philippians 2:6-11 (my favorite passage of scripture) describes Jesus in the most profound way: He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness…He humbled Himself and became obedient to death.
That’s how I want to live–obedient, humble, serving others, and sharing what God has done in my life. When trials come, and they will, I want to stand for truth. If I’m misunderstood, if I’m not worthy, if life is unkind, I want to be found faithful. The One who loves me unconditionally will be waiting for me on the other side of my broken road, and He will lead me home.
