Luke 21:10-19 (NRSV)
Read Luke 21:10-19 on biblegateway.com
Verse 10Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; Verse 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. Verse 12"But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. Verse 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. Verse 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; Verse 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. Verse 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. Verse 17You will be hated by all because of my name. Verse 18But not a hair of your head will perish. Verse 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Devotion
I was raised on the prairie, where it’s easy to get turned around and disoriented on an overcast day. One way to overcome this is to pick a reference point in the distance and keep an eye on that, no matter what the present terrain looks like. If I dip into a draw and lose sight of the reference point, I can pick it up again when I top the next rise.
Jesus seems to be saying we need to focus on him and his gospel, no matter what the present emotional terrain is doing to us. That focus will be what pulls us through.
So when tough times arrive, be it illness, job loss, family estrangement, professional disappointment, disillusionment with life or with the church or with others or even death itself, we hear the words of Jesus, "Stand firm -- stay focused -- and you will save yourselves."
Prayer
Dear Jesus, there is so much of what we experience that we don't understand. Keep our eyes lifted and focused on you throughout all of life. Amen.