Resilient Joy

‘Just a cradle in the shadow of a cross,’ sings one Gospel song. ‘A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,’ prophesies Isaiah. A king born to die. Jesus. And yet it has been long been a topic of discussion among Bible scholars whether Jesus was the most resiliently joyful man who ever walked the earth. Free from sin from birth and thus completely unhindered, 100% confident in who, and Whose, he was, knowing beyond doubt that he was the beloved only son of his Father, walking in the collective authority of both Heaven and earth, it seems likely that, as to resilient joyfulness, he was without peer.

Luke 22:7-20, 2 Corinthians 4:6-18, Philippians 3:1-11

• Luke 22:7-20 – the joy of ______________________________________________
• 2 Corinthians 4:6-18 – the joy of _______________________________________
• Philippians 3:1-11 – the joy of _________________________________________

Because [Jesus] never lost sight of where he was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! Hebrews 12:2,3 MSG.