Trials #8—Unashamed Praise

He who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin; therefore he is not ashamed to call them family. Hebrews 2:11

One of the most wonderful aspects of your incarnation, Lord, is that when you lived among us, you were not ashamed to be one of us. You shared our weakness and our need, suffering with us the fearful contingencies of our human limitations. So you have a truly unashamed sympathy for our plight. Even though you know that we consistently fail to pass the tests of faith we encounter, you continue to hold your kinship with us dear; so dear in fact, that you offered your life to propitiate the Father’s just anger for our sin. Because you identified so closely with us, and were tested, just as we are, we have expectantly approached the Father’s gracious throne to ask for mercy and extravagant expressions of his infinite joy. We came confidently to seek his grace and the help we need when life is hard. We came for real mercy in the face of failure which had left us worn and scarred. We came for sympathy when our hearts quailed before a test of faith that took away our breath. We came for strength which fear could not assail despite the certain prospect of our death. We came because you joined us here on earth to share the depth of our humanity, the fullness of our finitude and fear. We came to celebrate that you overcame the worst adversity to gain for us the life we now hold dear. We came because you know how to rescue your godly ones from trials. When we lacked wisdom, we asked the Father and he simply gave it without reproaching us. Hallelujah! Amen!