For the Joy Set Before Him
So let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith, and see how it is that He endured what He endured.
We find our answer in the next verse of Hebrews 12, which says, “For the joy set before Him He endured the cross.” That painful, terrible, unfair, and horrible death that He had to face - He endured it for joy.
For joy.
Finding Strength in the Joy Set Before Us
Now this reminds me straight away of James 1:2–3, where he said: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance (or endurance).”
Consider it joy! Does that mean we have to be glad and smile when things go wrong? No. But think about what the writer to the Hebrews says: For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross. In another words, Jesus endured the difficulty because He knew that joy was still coming on the other side of the difficulty. He put up with the pain in order to gain joy. No pain, no gain, right?
He did not walk into the cross smiling and grinning. No, He sweated great big drops like blood. He lay on His face in the Garden of Gethsemane, anxious because He knew about the pain He was about to face. But when it came, He endured it. He got through it. He did not waver, but He kept going because He knew that there was joy waiting for Him on the other side.
Enduring Pain With Hope Like Jesus
Just before He was arrested, Jesus was talking to His disciples about the pain they would face when they saw Him crucified. John 16: 21–22 : “Jesus said a woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
He was teaching the same principle, that in times of grief and pain we can endure, and hold on, because joy is coming on the other side.
Jesus endured the cross for joy. He knew that beyond the cross, He would be in His Father’s presence. He knew that because of the cross, millions and billions of people would be reconciled to God. He knew that because of the cross, the enemy of God would be defeated forever. And so for the joy of that, He endured!
It is the same for you and I, friends. We face pain. We face difficulties, we face grief and sorrow. But because of the joy of knowing and loving God, the joy that God is on a mission and He will use our pain for good, the joy of being part of His mission on earth, the joy of giving our lives for God’s glory and being part of His story, the joy that one day we will be in a place with Him without any pain and sorrow… These are our motivations, and they are not small motivations for enduring life’s pain.
And so may it be that, like Jesus, you and I can endure our pain and our difficulties for the joy set before us.
Even when prayers seem unanswered, our faith rests not in God's deliverance but in God Himself. Choose today to trust God's wisdom over your circumstances, knowing He can bring ministry from your deepest hurts.