Devotional Jesus Determined to Die

Luke 9:51 “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51, NASB). Our attitude toward a difficult task or difficult circumstance has a great impact on our success. We must have faith. Faith means that we have qualities such as courage, vision, and determination. Courage means that there is a reason to be afraid, but we continue anyway. Vision means that we know the purpose for that which we hope to accomplish. Determination means that we are prepared to face the roadblocks that hinder us from reaching our destination. In this passage of scripture Jesus’ destination is Jerusalem. He must go to Jerusalem before His ascension to the Father. Jesus knows that He is going to die in Jerusalem. Jesus has a vision from the Father in which people are redeemed from their sins. He is facing a cruel death by crucifixion. Yet, He has courage. There will be stops along the way to Jerusalem, but His direction is always toward Jerusalem. We should ask ourselves, “Where am I going?” “What is my purpose?” In life there are many obstacles. We will have opportunities to go in another direction, but taking another path leads us away from our destination. All people are born on the road that leads to eternal death. Jesus offers us the chance to change directions and get on the road to eternal life. We have not experienced traveling on this road before. We must have faith, purpose, vision, and determination to get to our destination. Prayer: Father, we thank you for giving us a chance to travel the road that leads to eternal life. We have put our faith in Jesus and we have set our faces toward the home in heaven that you have prepared for us. Amen.