The Sword that Pierces our Hearts.

If we grasp this truth, we will trust God deeper when life tests our faith with challenging circumstances. As I studied for my next book, “Not Quite as Expected,” I recognized in the story of Mary and Joseph as they bring Jesus to the temple that Simeon, a righteous and devout man, prepares Mary for a future deep agony she’d face: “and a sword will pierce through your soul also.”

God prepared her for the heartbreak she would suffer concerning the baby boy she was holding. She knew what was promised when the Angel communicated with her about his conception and birth. There is much in scripture that tells us she didn’t fully grasp the weight of her baby’s responsibility for the World. We cannot overlook how God prepared her ahead of time for the birth of her baby and also for the reality that pain would come (a sword ) and deep anguish through the life she delivered into the world. Understanding this helps us grasp how our Sovereign God loves us.

God’s love and grace also offer a similar preparation that should comfort us. We, too, are prepared by God's grace for pain to come into our lives. 1 Peter 4:12 says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange was happening to you.”

It is normative for us to be shocked, surprised, and discombobulated when we face trials God already tells us are coming. From Jesus, James, Peter, Paul, and others, communicate in various passages about life’s hardships and the collisions in our lives. These are what I call the “Stuff of Life.” Hard times are coming. They are the “Normal Christian life.”

This magnanimous preparation is for those who are called according to His purpose. They are those who love Him, the same as Mary. We can trust that the formation of His Son’s character is happening within us according to Romans 8:29. We may not comprehend how important that is for the citizens of The Kingdom of God. To begrudge this reality is an everyday battle in our flesh, but that’s what is being put to death. Ok, maybe not when life is easy, and that's a reality we also experience. It’s not all hard at all times. But there are some… I’m just saying!

Much of what we go through isn’t easy. We can still see how “we can count it all joy.” God, who loves us, prepares us for testing so we are not surprised. The joy is that His Grace is sufficient to get us through ALL that will go and “pierce through your (and my) own soul.”

I can see Mary fixing her eyes on her baby at that moment. Maybe she had to be shaken back to attention to make eye contact with anyone else, even Joseph, who may have been guiding her with Jesus in her arms. That’s conjecture, but it’s how I picture the scene. And I’m connected to these words, “fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith…” He’s our focus every day, and all the more so when we are about to feel the sword pierce our souls.