Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. John 13:3 NLT
"I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." John 17:4 NLT
Jesus had the confidence and courage to do everything His Father had given Him to do. Now, we can say, “Well, that’s because He was Jesus.” Yes, He was Jesus, but it was His willing, conscious choice to know His Father deeply and stay in constant contact with Him through prayer. He prayed in the moment as things happened, and He often withdrew to spend intimate, quiet time with His Father even when from the outside it didn’t look like much was going on. He never lost sight of the reason He was here. He was here to fulfill God’s mission – the mission of bringing God’s much-loved creation into relationship with Him.
His confidence and obedience came from three places. We can have similar confidence if we choose.
He knew where He came from. He came from God. God was His “home.” God was His Father, and He had come here on a mission from Him, with a specific purpose.
He knew where He was going. He was going back to His Father. He would be with Him forever. Knowing that though there would be hard times and trials beyond what we can imagine, even death on the cross, He was going back to His Father. It motivated Him to be completely obedient, even resisting face-to-face temptation from the Enemy, and to share God’s invitation and love with the most resistant.
He knew God had given Him authority and power to handle every situation He would face. He was backed by the eternal Father who loved Him completely and trusted Him with the greatest assignment in time and eternity.
Knowing those truths and acting on them gave Him the ability, motivation, and persistence to talk to the Father the night before His death and say assuredly, “I brought you glory by completing the work you gave me to do.” What joy and comfort! We have the call and the ability to live and serve in the same way. Will we? It’s where significance and confidence before God are found.
- Where do you need to focus so you can confidently say, “I finished the work You sent me to do”?