The Vinedresser's Shears

David Powlison writes, "The Vinedresser uses pruning shears, not a chain saw. He's not going to work on everything all at once. He's not going to make you face every kind of trouble right now. He's not going to teach you everything about himself. But something about who he is and what he says to you can make a decisive difference in some challenge you are facing right now." (Speaking Truth in Love, p. 56-57)

That was encouraging to me. Something specific about Jesus today can make a difference to some specific challenge you are facing today. Here's what helped me this morning.

In Hebrews 2:5-9, Jesus is seen in his supremacy over the angels, because he fulfills Psalm 8, which is all about God's purpose for humanity to have dominion over the earth. Psalm 8, however, is the ideal. The reality is that sin and death have usurped this dominion. Human beings are under subjection, not reigning. But Jesus, through suffering and death, has regained that royal rule which God intended for human beings to exercise over creation. And God has crowned Jesus with glory and honor because of his humble obedience through suffering. Jesus is the new man, the Second Adam, the true man - the one who restores all that was lost through the Fall.

That helped me remember today that Jesus reigns. Even over the affairs of my life, my worries, my stresses, my cares. Jesus is in control. If he could defeat death itself, surely he can handle my petty concerns. Further, because he has suffered, he can help me in my suffering and temptation today. I'm not alone. The living, reigning Jesus, who partook of flesh and blood and tasted death for everyone, is my high priest.

What specific truth is helping you in your specific trials today?