Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into it’s sheath; shall I not drink the cup that is given to me?” John 18:10-11

Fight, flight or freeze. How do you respond when you feel threatened? I’ll admit it, I’m a fighter, all the way. I’m not proud of it but it’s true. If there’s one thing that gets me riled up and ready to fight more than anything it’s seeing my babies suffer. I’m a mama to six precious kids. The more kids you have the greater the odds are that something’s going to go wrong. Watching one of them hurt kills me. It’s like my kryptonite. You can pick on me all you want but mess with my babies and watch out cause the mama bear inside of me might just unleash.

The thing is, I love them so much that I want to protect them from anything that could cause them to hurt. Because of that, I come to their rescue a little more than I should, okay maybe a lot more than I should. I’m a fixer, If it’s with in my control to fix their problem, I do what I can to help. But I realize that there are some things that they must go through on their own in order to learn and grow.

And there are some things that are simply out of my control; like the time my six year old had to have a simple out-patient procedure but the doctor made a mistake inside of his little body that created a blockage further damaging his one and only kidney. Which caused my little boy to undergo four other procedures and one major operation in order to get well again.

That was definitely not my favorite season of life. It was hard. I hated that there was absolutely nothing I could do for him. He wanted me to fix it, but there was nothing I could do. He had to endure the pain of the procedures in order to be fully healed. I hated to see him suffer. I wished I could take his pain away but he had to go through it to be healthy again.

Sometimes we have to walk through storms in life to get to our victory.

Jesus knew he had to endure the pain and suffering of the cross to redeem us from darkness. He didn’t want to to go through it.  He agonized over it all night. Sleepless and alone, but you were worth it to him.

I can relate to Peter. Peter loved Jesus the way that I love my babies. He wanted to protect Jesus from the pain of the cross. I can picture it now, as Jesus was with his disciples in the olive grove called Gethsemane. He stayed there knowing that Judas had gone to betray him. He waited there in the garden knowing the temple guards would come.  As the mob of Roman soldiers and Jewish servants confronted Jesus and his disciples on that dark eerie night, Peter was fearful and threatened. Desperate to protect Jesus, he quickly pulled out his knife and, without thinking, lunged toward the soldier’s face. The man moved fast enough that Peter only cut his ear, slicing it clean off.  Jesus doesn’t want to be fought for. He knew that what He was about to endure, as much as he didn’t want to go through it, was necessary for the sake of you and me.

You see, the kingdom of God feels backwards at best. It goes against our human instincts.

We want to hurt our enemies instead of love them. We want to fight when we’re fought against. The thing is, in the end love wins. Love trumps all. The only way to overcome evil is with good.

We win in unexpected ways. Sometimes it’s by being un-chosen rather than chosen. By sharing our failures rather than our successes. By letting the other person have their way instead of fighting for your own. By lowering ourselves to serve with humility rather than fighting for positions of power at the top. By receiving an insult and meeting it with a compliment.

Humility is the channel in which all other Godly virtues flow through. Jesus defeated Satan in the most unlikely of ways. It was so unlikely that Satan actually helped Jesus win by enticing Judas to betray him. Satan never saw Jesus’ victory coming.

Oftentimes our struggles propel us forward. It’s our pain that catapults us or positions us to fill our destiny. God can use your enemies, opposition, hurts and failures to launch you straight into God’s will.

He can turn your ashes into beauty. Oftentimes, the most beautiful stories are created in seasons of pain.

My prayer for you is that you will stay close to Jesus; follow Him step-by-step and let Him lead you. Even if you don’t understand where He’s taking you,  let Him use your story for His glory.