Perfume in Pain…

I was reading John 19 this morning, following a study I was doing of Jesus life of Intercession (which started earlier in the book of John, but obviously I couldn't stop reading). Anyway, Jesus is standing before Pilate, and Pilate is saying, "Why don't you speak to me, don't you realize that I have power to release you or crucify you?" 

Jesus response really spoke to me:

"Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above!" John 19:11

Isn't that awesome? It's awesome, because it reminded me that NOTHING can come against us, even today, except that God allows it from above. And IF He allows it, it must mean that He is seeking to grow us, challenge us, change us, or witness through our experience to help someone else. 

I pray that no matter what we face, we can say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. And when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 13:15, 23:10

And if, in the sorrows of this life, or for Christ's sake we are crushed, may we be like Christ who only yielded sweet fragrance (or perfume) in the midst of pain. This is a lesson we are continually reminded of in the flowers who shed FRAGRANCE on those that crush them. :-) I love it. 

So let us shed fragrance no matter what we face!

[Endnote: At this point, Morning Sonshine blog will continue, although posts will be shorter, and since I'm taking some extended time away from Internet, I may be writing more posts in advance, in which case, it's more difficult to write out the daily blessing or battle thought at the end of the blog. So I'm going to leave that part out for now! I also may steal some of my favorite devotional thoughts from other compilations to post here.]