Apr 5, 2026 – Suffering
Utmost – No matter how empathetic we think we are with Christ’s suffering, Chambers wakes us up with this truth: “We can never fathom the agony in Gethsemane, but at least we need not misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and Man in one, face to face with sin…. It was not the death on the cross that Jesus feared in Gethsemane; He stated most emphatically that He came on purpose to die. In Gethsemane He feared lest He might not get through as Son of Man. He would get through as Son of God – Satan could not touch Him there; but Satan’s onslaught was that He would get through as an isolated Figure only; and that would mean that He could be no Savior…. In Gethsemane Satan came back and was again overthrown…. The veil is drawn aside to reveal all it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony is the basis of the simplicity of our salvation.”
Simpson – “Many shall be purified and made white and tried” (Dan. xxii. 10). Simpson explains, “This is the promise for the Lord’s coming. It is more than purity. It is to be made white, lustrous, or bright. To be purified is to have the sin burned out; to be made white is to have the glory of the Lord burned in. The one is cleansing, the other is illumination and glorification.”
Power – Joyce takes us back to the message in John 16:33, of overcoming troubles through Christ, entitling her message, “Patience Grows under Trial.” She points out that, “Patience is a fruit of the Spirit we desperately need in our lives. But when we pray for patience, we often experience challenges that give us opportunity to develop patience…. God wants us to bless Him at all times, not just when things are going our way…. remember you can be peaceful, enjoy the journey, have faith, and learn patience because Jesus is with you at every moment.”
Streams – 2 Kings 4:4 – “Go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons.” As I read what Cowman was pointing out, that the widow and her sons “had to be isolated from everyone… depending on God alone – in touch with the Source of miracles,” I thought of Jesus in Gethsemane. She explains that being with and depending on God alone “is an ingredient in God’s plan of dealing with us….. At certain times and places, God will build a mysterious wall around us. He will take away all the supports we customarily lean upon, and will remove our ordinary ways of doing things…. and thus where He causes us to look to Him.
From Soul Food, Cowman shares, “Like this widow, we must be detached from outward things and attached inwardly to the Lord alone in order to see His wonders.”
JA – “Try to begin and end each day thanking Me for all I have provided. My gift of salvation is designed to bless not only you but the people around you. As you trust in Me, streams of living water will flow from within you…. pray: ‘Holy Spirit, think through me; live through me; love through me.’” Christ suffered so that we are able to pray that prayer confidently and with joyous expectation. See Isaiah 12:3, John 4:13-14, and John 7:38.
