I give praise to You, O Suffering Savior, for the marvelous display of trust and love You showed when You said, on the Cross before You died, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Why is it that I find it so hard to trust the way You did? In my heart, I feel the same sentiment as You but, when it comes to living it out, I shy away. If I truly loved and trusted like You did, fear and doubt and worry would have no place in my life. I know that in the garden, You struggled with Your human emotions. Yet, when You reflected on Your relationship with Your Father, it became easier to accept His will over Yours. How do I go about mustering the same kind of faith, courage and strength like You did in Your greatest hour of testing? The answer seems to lie in my acceptance of my calling … my developing a deep personal relationship with You … and, opening myself up to the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Trust and love were at the center of Your commitment to Your Heavenly Father. To trust, like You did, I must be confident in Your faithfulness, integrity and fairness. By my acknowledging You, I express my absolute and unquestioning reliance on You, Your Word and Your mercy. As I place myself in Your hands, I am expressing my explicit trust in You without fear or reservation. Because of my failures in the past, I must see my struggles, heartaches and disappointments as opportunities to learn and grow rather than call into question Your fidelity. To handle life’s difficulties with faith and trust, I need to become more like You. By faith, I must accept the fact that You reward those who diligently seek You. My rewards for such an effort include … Heaven instead of Hell; faith instead of fear; victory instead of defeat; and, peace instead of turmoil. To trust is to believe … and, then act on what I believe.
Why do I continue to wrestle with my flesh, the world and demons whose goal is to drive me away from You? I thought that my struggles would become easier when I gave myself to You. However, You warned me of the difficulties I’d face as I took my cross and followed You. Even though the road I travel with my cross is filled with pain, heartache and suffering, it ultimately ends well. Through faith, You succeeded in Your mission and proved to me that, if I persevere in mine, I too will triumph over adversity. You have spoken truthfully when you said “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” So how do I overcome the weakness in my flesh? Part of my victory rests on reading and comprehending Your Word … accepting the power of the Holy Spirit … and fervently seeking You in prayer. As I commend my life to You, I trust that I am paving the way to victory in my life. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Luke 23:46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father into Your hands I commend my spirit …”