On Calvary’s Hill by Max Lucado: The Journey of a Lifetime and Giveaway

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Have you ever had to take a journey that you weren’t looking forward too? Going to some place you weren’t familiar with? How did it make you feel? It makes me anxious, and very uncomfortable. Not knowing what your destination will exactly hold, or who will be there. There is One though who made a journey of a lifetime, and had those same feelings, but He knew exactly where He was going, who would be there, and what would ultimately happen to Him.

He made the journey anyway.

Sometimes life will take you on a journey you aren’t prepared for, it will throw you a curve ball sometimes called divorce, a cancer diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, a miscarriage, a prodigal child, depression, financial strain, homelessness, moving to a new place, saying goodbye to someone, just plain life curve balls. You know what I mean.

How do we handle those lifetime journeys?

I know for me at times I do not handle these well. I get very anxious, have a lot of sleepless nights, my body starts having physical symptoms, and I just feel uneasy. I talk to my closest people and try to work it all out in my mind, but a lot of the time I forget the most important person of all to relay these feelings to. The One person who understands it all, Who has made this same journey as me, Who has felt every anxious feeling or thought I have had, One whose body was put through the most physical abuse one could ever endure.

Jesus

He knows my every thought, my feelings, my anxious moments, my tear drops, He knows me.

In Max Lucado’s beautiful devotional book “On Calvary’s Hill” he beautifully describes the journey that Jesus took in the day’s before His death. He provokes us to think about the crucifixion like we’ve never thought of it before, not a beautiful painting depicting Jesus kneeling by a rock praying, but a dark foggy night full of wailing, and fear.  I can now see the journey of a lifetime that my Jesus took, from the “Road to Jerusalem” to the “Resurrection of Christ” clearly.

In the devotion titled “In The Garden” I can see how my Jesus understands the anxiety of being on a journey that He didn’t sign up to be on. The devotion paints a perfect picture of what it was like for Jesus in the garden praying to God about this journey that he was about to embark on. The pages describe the scene in phrases such as: “Horror and dismay came over Him”, “My heart is ready to break with grief”, and “He went forward a little, and threw himself on the ground” Mark 14:32-42 (page 14 On Calvary’s Hill) 

Can you relate to those feelings and actions that Jesus had?

Jesus struggled with fear. He wrestled with His commitments. He agonized over His journey. He wanted relief.

Do you need relief?

I love this excerpt from On Calvary’s Hill:

The next time the fog finds you, remember Jesus in the Garden. The next time you think that on one understands and cares, reread the fourteenth chapter of Mark and pay a visit to Gethsemane. And the next time you wonder if God really perceives the pain that prevails on this dusty planet, listen to Him pleading among the twisted trees. Max Lucado - On Calvary’s Hill

So the next time you find yourself on a journey that is out of your control remember to go to the One who know this journey best, Jesus.  He will guide you and hold you until it’s over. Life is ever-changing, it never stays the same, there is hope and a future for you. Just remember that Jesus has the Resurrection, and you will too in Him. He will resurrect your situation, your journey and make it perfect in Him. He knows, He understands, just go to Him, even if it looks like the scene painted in Mark chapter 14, that was Him, sweaty brow, dripping blood, wailing, and scared.

You are not too much for Him, the journey is not too hard for Him.

I received a copy of “On Calvary’s Hill” from Family Christian to review, but I have found this book to be a treasure to my family. For our family devotions in the weeks leading up to Easter we have read from this book. “On Calvary’s Hill” is so beautifully written, and paints pictures in my children’s minds as well as mine about what Jesus had to endure on His ultimate journey. I encourage you and your family to read through this together. It will provoke conversation, and make you really think about what the road the crucifixion was really like.

You can purchase your own copy here: On Calvary’s Hill

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