The Hard Bits

Luke 22:41-42 – And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, "Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done. (NASB)

My friend gave me an old magazine to read, with the understanding that I should pass it on to someone else. The first thing I do with my own magazines is to rip out all the hard cardboard bits and throw them away. I never look to see what they want or offer. I just get rid of them so that I can fold pages neatly and read without struggling to find page numbers.

I tried to keep my friend's magazine intact. I really did. But those hard cardboard bits — the ads and order forms and perfume sample pieces — just drove me crazy. In no time, they were history.

Then, as I still held them in my hand, I sensed God saying, "You have to do the hard bits." And I stopped dead in my tracks, suddenly realizing why I have struggled with victory in some areas of my life. I had been refusing to do the hard bits.

We all know about the hard bits. There are people we should be confronting, children who should be disciplined, and bad habits we must stop. We pray and pray and pray, begging God to deliver us, to change them, to take away our need for discipline.

Jesus prayed about His hard bit too, but the difference is that He went ahead and did the hard bit. Where would we be if He had not?

Prayer: Lord God, we have each struggled in this area in some way. Our hard bits are not all the same; however, our response should be. Help each of us to do the hard bits that will give us victory with the help of the Holy Spirit. Thy will be done. For Christ's sake, we pray. Amen.

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