November 14.
Smile Despite Suffering

John 17:1

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.

Father, the hour is come. Jesus mentioned the hour at least eight times in the gospels. Anytime the Holy Spirit repeats something, it’s good for us to take notice. Jesus was really talking about his hour of suffering. You see, Jesus is the only person who knew before He got here how much He had to suffer while He was here. Most of our suffering usually slips up on us, but Jesus knew before he arrived how much he had to suffer. In Luke 2:49 Jesus said He must be about His Father’s business. His father’s business was for him to be the sacrificial lamb and die on a hill called Calvary, be buried, and rise again on the third day. He knew he had to suffer.

My hour has come The tragedy of his suffering is that He didn’t suffer for himself. He suffered for you; He suffered for me. You ought to love a person some if they are willing to suffer for you. Nobody wants to suffer for a person that’s trying to destroy you. Jesus suffered for his enemies. He suffered for folk that meant him no good. All of us have been enemies of Christ. We were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Namely, everything we did was against God. And yet he suffered enough to die in our place.

Glorify me so that I can glorify you. Jesus was saying to his father, “Look, I’m on the way to Calvary. While I’m going, don’t allow me to look bad. When my hands are nailed, fix it So I can stand the nails. When they put a crown on my head, fix it So I won’t curse them out. When they hang me on the cross, allow me to hang there and dispense blessings instead of cursing. When I arrive at Calvary and get on the cross, make me look good in spite of all I have to encounter. Help me through this. God will do the same thing for you and help you smile through tears.