Comfort or Commitment?

“They put gall in My food and gave Me vinegar for My thirst.” Psalm 69:21

Throughout Jesus’ arrest, trial, beatings, and crucifixion, He said very few words. One thing He did say, several hours into His crucifixion, was, “I am thirsty.” But He didn’t speak these words because of thirst alone. There was something else that drove both His thirst and His statement. According to John 19:28, He said it so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.

Jesus realized that everything that happened to Him during the crucifixion was part of God’s plan. At the very moment He hung on the cross asking for water, the Word of God was being fulfilled. The crucifixion was not an accident. Jesus was not a victim. He willingly laid His life down for you and for me. He willingly submitted to God’s plan for His life, fully trusting His Father in all things.

Hundreds of years before Jesus was crucified, there was a prophecy given by King David in Psalm 69:21 that said, “They put gall in My food and gave Me vinegar for My thirst.” As Jesus hung on the cross, He knew He had not yet been given vinegar to drink. Knowing God’s Word and His plan, He let it be known He was thirsty so that God’s plan would be fulfilled…and it was. John 19:29 says, “A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.”

Don’t miss this important truth: God has a plan for your life. Nothing is left to chance. With God, there are no accidents – only appointments. Jesus suffered physically, emotionally, and spiritually because He completly surrendered to and accepted God’s plan for His life. The question you must answer is, “Are you willing to suffer whatever you must suffer to fulfill God’s plan for your life?” What is more important…your physical comfort or total commitment to God’s plan?

Dear God, please help me to never put my comfort before complete surrender to Your plan for My life. When I have doubts or fears, help me to remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for me. That is all the motivation I could ever need. In Jesus’ name, amen