The Deepest Hurt, the Biggest Burden, the Heaviest Lift

Bad things happen. There’s no good time for that unwelcome intruder to barge into one’s life. But some bad things carve especially deep wounds. What hurts you the most?

IMO, bad stuff inflicts the deepest hurt when the act is purposeful, personal, public, and punitive. Especially when someone close to you does it.

A high-control boss gives you a dressing-down in the middle of a staff meeting. A friend vents on social media instead of talking with you to resolve a disagreement. A family member turns relatives against you after a divorce.

There’s something especially repugnant about intentional harm. And the shame it causes.

That’s exactly what our Lord endured.

The deepest hurt and biggest burden

On Jesus’ worst day of His life, a friend betrayed him, His followers fled, the people He came to redeem rejected Him, and Satan taunted Him. Roman soldiers had their way with Him before and after He stood in Pilate’s presence. I can’t fathom the agony Jesus endured. The shame He suffered. But I am awed by His choice.

John Piper notes, “Shame is the one agony of the cross which the author [of Hebrews] mentions. Shame was stripping away every earthly support that Jesus had: his friends gave way in shaming abandonment; his reputation gave way in shaming mockery; his decency gave way in shaming nakedness; his comfort gave way in shaming torture. His glorious dignity gave way to the utterly undignified, degrading reflexes of grunting and groaning.”

Everything about the cross was designed to bring ultimate shame on anyone condemned to that death. Yet Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus “despised its shame.” Some translations say “scorned its shame.” That Greek word occurs only in this verse. It literally means He considered the shame of the Cross as inconsequential compared to “the joy set before Him.”

Inconsequential! By keeping His focus on His heavenly Father, He could disregard earthly shame. By trusting that He was in the center of His Father’s will, He could count His agonizing death as nothing because He knew what it would accomplish for mankind.

The heaviest lift

Let’s face it and say it: parts of life are HARD. I’ve been going another round with that lately. But God’s been teaching me something through it. It’s about heavy lifting. Life often requires that. We’re not supposed to roll over when we need to roll up our sleeves. But we do need to be sure we’re not trying to lift something alone when Christ says to share the load with Him. At other times, Christ says step back; this burden isn’t yours to bear.

Christ willingly bore the burden that was His alone to bear. How incredible is that?! Praise God that His sacrificial death did ALL the lifting to give us a way to be with Him forever!

Future-focused faith

Can we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus even when enduring life’s worst hurts? Can we see past the chaos, confusion, or danger to glimpse God’s greater plan? If we can’t catch that coveted glimpse, can we trust Him to still be in control?

Like Jesus, we need future-focused faith. Easier to say than do, right? But, as David Jeremiah says, “When we’re in danger, it’s easy to look at all the stuff around us. But then all we can see is the stuff—and we lose hope. Instead, keep looking at the Good Shepherd.”

This is the second installment of a Lenten series.
Read the first one here.
Read the third one here.

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