Look Beyond

Heb.12:2 (Voice) “Now stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith. He endured the cross and ignored the shame of that death because He focused on the joy that was set before Him; and now He is seated beside God on the throne, a place of honor” (emphasis added).  

Jesus was able to say, “Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” (Matt.26:46) because He focused on what was beyond the cross. You have to see beyond your current pain and suffering. Why are you sacrificing so much for your children? Why are you wearing only one shirt and trousers? It is just so that your children can go to school. You are doing it because you see a preferred future for them. You go through the pain because of what you see. If Jesus had focused on the cross, what do you think would have happened? In fact, the Bible says, if Jesus had not focused on the price (the result, the glory), He would not have gone to the cross.

Jesus saw you and me. He saw that one-day Femi will be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. So, He went to the cross just because of me. Jesus said, because I can see Femi, I am going to do it.  There are things you do as a leader, not because of you, but because of the people you are leading. You can see it and you go through it, even though it is not for yourself. A man can only really wear one shirt at a time, right? In fact, if you insist on wearing three shirts at the same time, people will think you have lost it. We do not live for ourselves, you do not live for yourself. You have to stop focusing on the problem and start focusing on the promotion. Before Jesus could embrace the glory that was set before Him, He had to see beyond the cross. Look beyond!

We do not live for ourselves. No tree eats its own fruit. We do not focus on ourselves. We have to focus on the result. The student that wants to get an ‘A’ will have to go through the pain of studying. The student that says reading for long hours is hard is just stating the obvious. So what if reading for long hours is hard? The question is what can you see, what grade can you see? Can you see an A, or a C, or can you see a D? If what you are comfortable with is a pass, that is all you will see and that is all you will get. I had friends in the university that what they wanted was “let my people go”, a pass mark. That was what they could see and that was what they got. But when you can see an A, you are able to go through the pain of reading, because of what you see not because of the pain. Heb.12:2 (Voice) “Now stay focused on Jesus, who designed and perfected our faith. He endured the cross and ignored the shame of that death because He focused on the joy that was set before Him; and now He is seated beside God on the throne, a place of honor.” 

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, help me to focus on the glory that God has set before me and pay the price for the greatness God has lined up for me, in Jesus Name. Amen!