Thriving in Times of Difficulty

Nearly the whole of Luke 21 deals with the fact believers will face incredible persecution as the end of times draws near. We are warned of all sorts of difficulties that will come our way. We were never promised that the Christian life would be easy. In fact, we are told in Matthew 15:20, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master’ If they persecute me, they will also persecute you.”

The question for us is, how do we face such times and still honor our Lord? The text of Luke 21 gives us three ways. First, we must walk in the Spirit. Verse 14 says, “Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer.” He has just been talking about the fact that believers will be persecuted, arrested, and brought before the officials. Jesus says, don’t worry about how you will answer ahead of time. In the moment you need an answer, He will give it to you. The ability to walk in such freedom, not worrying about what to say if something happens, can only come from trusting God’s Spirit to lead us.

Second, we must endure. When times get bad, it is difficult to keep pressing on. However, this is exactly what Jesus calls us to do. In verse 19 He says, “By your endurance you will gain your lives.” It is by our endurance that we prove we are truly committed to Jesus Christ. If we bail at the first sign of things getting difficult, then there was not much of a commitment there.

Third, we are to long for the return of Christ. Verse 27 says, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” “And then.” These two words point to the fact that suffering will precede the return of Christ. If we are not aware of this fact, then suffering could turn us away from our faith. However, if we recognize this fact, then we are prepared to face the difficulties ahead with full assurance that our Lord’s return is near.

Let us continue to walk in faith. Times will get hard. Some of these difficulties are just normal for the course of life. Some of these difficulties will be a direct result of our faith in Christ. Regardless of the root of our difficulties the solution remains the same: walk in the Spirit, endure, and anticipate the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED

“What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Luke 20:17-18

Each of us will come to a grand juncture in life; we must each decide what we will do with Jesus Christ. We can reject or dismiss Him. We can shrug and refuse to decide at this time. Or, we can recognize that He is indeed God in the flesh and surrender our lives to Him. Throughout history we see people that have made each of these choices. However, whether we recognize it or not does not change this one simple fact, Jesus is the Savior of the world.

Those in Jesus’ day rejected Him. He was not the Messiah they were looking for. They thought the Messiah would be a military/political leader that would finally put the Roman Empire in its place, turn the tables, and allow the Jewish people to reign. Instead, they go a suffering servant. So what did they do? They rejected Him. “The stone that the builders rejected.”

However, their rejection did not remove the fact of who Jesus was. Now we must make our decision. Will we fall on this stone that was rejected, or will in fall on us? If we choose to fall on Him we will be forever changed. “Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces.” But this change is the sort of change that will allow us to be what we could never be on our own.

On the other hand, if we refuse to fall on this stone and be broken, then it will fall on us and crush us. “And when it (the stone) falls on anyone, it will crush him.” This speaks of eternal destruction. This should not be the goal of our lives.

We have a choice to make. Come to Christ, surrender, and be forever changed. Or, we can reject Christ, still have to face the reality of who He is, and face eternal destruction. This is a choice with eternal consequences, choose carefully.

PRAYER AND PRIORITIES

A defining characteristic of Jesus’ followers is that they ought to be a people of prayer. As Jesus prepares to go to the cross, He makes a visit to the temple. When He arrives at the temple, He discovers that all sorts of things are going on, but not the one thing that ought to be happening, worship. There are people there buying and selling animals. There are people exchanging money and taking advantage of each other. There are still others who are just using the temple as a pass-through, walking through the courtyard to avoid going around. All of this is more than Jesus can take.

We are told in Luke 19:45 that as Jesus entered the temple He, “began to drive out those who sold.” It is interesting that just before this scene Luke records some of the thoughts of Jesus that relate to Jerusalem. In fact, Jesus wept over the city (Luke 19:41). His heart is broken because this city failed to recognize who He was and the peace that they truly could have had. What is at the root of them missing their “visitation” (Luke 19:44)? They had forgotten about true worship, true prayer, and honestly seeking God. How do we know this? Because of the condition in which Jesus finds the temple.

Having ridden into town and weeping over the city, having gone to the temple and discovering that it had been turned into a market place, Jesus now acts. After driving out all who sold, Jesus says, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers” (Luke 19:46). Jesus reminds them what their priority should have been as followers of the living God. They had lost focus and got their priorities mixed up.

We must make sure that we do not make the same mistake. Prayer must be a priority in our lives. This means that we must make time for prayer. We must discipline ourselves to pray. We must value of prayer. It is imperative that prayer hold its rightful place in our lives.