He Didn’t Skip the Hard Parts!

He is the Prince of Peace.

In keeping with the theme of what I want for Christmas—peace—I lead out today with these words from the Prince of Peace. 

“Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.” John 14:27

And then this verse: (Second verse I memorized as a new believer.)

“These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

In just a few days, we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. He is our Savior, and I pray we will embrace His peace. The world is far from peaceful – learning to live with His peace is critical if you and I desire to be set apart from this world. 

I was scrolling through Facebook and saw the post below. She’s a ministry wife and a friend who has attended one of our Refresh Retreats. Her post struck a chord, so I asked if I could share it with you. Her name is Scarlett. I love her straightforward processing.

“I’ve been thinking through a lot lately.

This morning, I was up early, thinking again in the quiet. Recently, I’ve been pretty worn down, frustrated, disappointed, hurt, mad, and sad. I’m just working my way through all the emotions, but I’m landing hard in the want-to-give-up zone.

I’ve struggled with people, with their opinions, with what I even think their opinions are, and with judgment (whether real or perceived), but this morning, these thoughts hit me.

I get frustrated a lot when we think we represent Christ, but really, we are just representing ourselves and calling it Jesus. Jesus taught some pretty hard teachings, and we often want to skip those parts.

Ultimate servanthood, humility, and meekness aren’t fair, glorious, or even fun sometimes, or arguably ever…it actually can feel….. demoralizing. We think sitting on the bench, losing a game, not running well, coming in last place, playing poorly, our kids messing up in front of people, us messing up in front of people, failing a test, a relationship ending, being called out in front of others. 

We think those things are demoralizing….but the king of the WORLD, creator of all things, being born in a manger as a helpless baby, then hanging on a cross and being mocked and beaten when he could have spoken one word and destroyed everyone- that, to me, is demoralizing. We say we want to be like Christ, but when we are given opportunities to be the most like Him- we don’t like it.

Serving others, not being noticed, embracing roles nobody sees, working hard and no one caring, encouraging others, and genuinely thinking of ourselves last are these opportunities. As a whole, we don’t like it. We want to be enough. We want things catered to us. We want the easy road. We want the excuses taken. We want exceptions made. We want the glory. We want it all- but we don’t want the process. We don’t really want to take up His cross- because his cross is full of servanthood, humility, meekness…and suffering.

The cross wasn’t the end for Jesus—he endured it because he knew he would get the final say, and resurrection day was coming—payday was Sunday. It’s the same for us—we endure it ALL because we know He gets the final say! It’ll all be worth it. The resurrection was only possible because of the cross. Suffering preceded the ultimate victory. If it’s true for Jesus, why do we think it’ll be any different for us?

He didn’t get to skip the hard parts.

My name is Scarlett Shirey. I’m a very busy homeschooling mama to 5 kids (17,15,13,11,9), animal mom to 2 dogs and 3 cats, and pastor’s wife of 20 years and counting. Currently, we reside in a small town in southwest Virginia, where we’ve been ministering for 9 years at our church. I love being with my family, but I also love teaching and equipping women with the truth of God’s Word. I’m a deep thinker, a passionate woman, often loud and talkative, and I’m competitive and driven- sometimes too much! 

My days are filled with questions, laundry, cleaning, and driving to practices and games, but in this season of life, I’m trying to embrace the moments, all the moments. I struggle with trusting and letting go, often taking on too much, but I bask in the goodness of God’s grace and mercy in my life despite my failures and questionable decisions. He carries me, though, even when I’ve gotten myself in over my head! Ministry is hard and can be wearing, but it’s the calling we can’t deny.