Does daily taking up your cross feel impossible? Christ has given you his resurrection power to fight against discouragement and hopelessness. If God calls you into a deeper affliction, he will provide a deeper portion of Jesus and his power.
Sometimes, the Christian life can feel so impossible.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow him, but often it sure feels impossible. We are clueless as to how to “daily take up our cross.” We know Jesus does not want us to stiffly resign ourselves to the weight of our cross or resentfully submit to the inconvenience of it, or to cope with it or to go through the day with a “woe-is-me” attitude. Even when you do go about bearing your cross feeling disengaged and emotionally numb, even that somehow seems less than what Jesus has in mind. So how do we move forward? Well, I’ve learned that how I take up my cross depends largely on how I view the cross that Jesus carried. That makes our cross less of a burden and, well, more of a privilege!
Jesus secured many things for us on Mount Calvary, but resurrection power is perhaps the greatest and most life-transforming benefit, especially when we bear our cross. Because resurrection power – that same mighty strength that raised Christ from the dead, as it says in Ephesians – is what we need when it comes to daily taking up our cross. And here’s what I mean. Okay, so follow me here: the resurrection of Jesus was evidence that his death conquered sin. And that’s what resurrection power is: it’s proof of Christ’s power over sin. And that’s what resurrection power does: it gives us power over sin. Because of Jesus, we have power – and not just any power, but soul-shaking resurrection power – that enables us to say no to sin. We do not have to complain; we have power to say no to grumbling, no to feeling like life is a burden; we have power to say no to fears about daily taking up our cross. You’ve got power to say no to being envious of others who seem to have it easier. You don’t need to chafe underneath your afflictions because God can strengthen you with his resurrection power. He enables you to miraculously prefer Christ over comfort, the Lord over your leisure, and even embrace the Redeemer when there is no relief from pain. Only the power of the resurrection can enable you to lift your cross with grace.
Man, this is such good news, and it’s why I love singing the old hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” It’s a fitting anthem when you take up your cross every day. It is the song of the sufferer who agrees that his cross is not one ounce too heavy, nor one inch too long. It is a sufferer who feels no irksome itchiness to get out from underneath the cross that God has assigned him. Even when it bites into your sanity and feels impossibly heavy, God can pour out power to do the impossible. So you fall to your knees and you sing that hymn from your heart, “When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss and pour contempt on all my pride.” Oh, friend, if this insight has encouraged you today, I share more about it in my new book "Songs of Suffering." So, visit joniradio.org to learn more. And finally, when you find your cross feels too heavy to lift, survey what Jesus did on his cross: at the cost of his own blood, he purchased the mighty strength of the resurrection for your impossible situation. And if God calls you into a deeper affliction, he will provide a deeper portion of Jesus and his power. Look for details on that in my book "Songs of Suffering" at joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends