The Via Dolorosa began triumphantly. There was excitement in the air; people were laying their garments and palm branches on the road as a royal carpet as they praised God joyfully with loud voices declaring, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:37, 38 NASB) What an entrance, full of promise, and yet by the end of the week, the one welcomed, and the pronounced King was deserted by all and hung on a cross. He was despised, rejected, killed, and placed in an unmarked tomb, not as a king but as an outcast. He appeared defeated and without hope.
But God… two words that changed life’s trajectory, intervened, and three days later, the tomb was empty; the Messiah was not dead but ALIVE!! He had risen!
At times our lives become a via dolorosa, a journey filled with disappointment, despair, or dilemma. We go to our Heavenly Father, like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, asking one last time, “Is there another way?” How hard it is to surrender, as Jesus did to “not my will but your will be done.”
Are you walking a via dolorosa? You are not alone. Jesus is with you. He has shown us the way. Hebrews 12:1-3, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (NIV)
We often can’t fathom how our circumstances can pivot from pain to purpose, from refuse to renewal, restoration, and resurrection. But God has shown us the way through Jesus who endured his via dolorosa for you, for me.
Beloved,
- Fix your eyes on Him (Hebrews 12:2)
- Anchor your soul to Him (Hebrews 6:19)
- Hold fast the confession of your faith (Hebrews 10:23)
- Never let Him go, for He is your peace, hope, and life (John 14:27)
Praise Him. He is risen. He is risen indeed.
Blessings,
Personal Parables is the blog of Dyann Shepard. Get Dyann’s complementary study in Proverbs and prayer guide, What to Do When You Don’t Feel Good Enough. If you need encouragement to remember the truth about yourself in times of doubt and anxiety, this free 5-day study is for you. Follow Dyann and Personal Parables on Instagram and Facebook. Dyann is available for speaking, guest blogging, and article writing.
Personal Parables Practices
- Am I taking time to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus?
- Am I praising God regularly for His victory of death on my behalf?
- How am I surrendering my personal via dolorosa to Jesus?
Prayer for Easter
Precious Jesus, Thank you. There are no words to express the depth of your love. It is too wonderful for me to comprehend. Thank you for forgiving me when I am focused on my personal via dolorosa to the extent that I forget yours. You went before me, suffered and died for me. You conquered death in order that I too will be raised with you in glory. Praise your Holy Name. Holy are you and you only to be praised. Amen.
Scripture for Meditation
Philippians 2:6-11 ESV – Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Ephesians 3:14-21 NASB – For this reason I bend my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Music for Reflection
