Zechariah 13:7–9

The night on which Jesus was betrayed, he was approached by a group of armed guards led by his disciple, Judas Iscariot. Identifying Jesus to the armed guard by kissing him, Judas then watched as the Lord was arrested and bound. As the guards arrested him, the other disciples fled into the darkness. Jesus was alone. His disciples had left him and scattered. It is this event that the Lord Almighty foretold in Old Testament prophecy: "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered."

It is hard to imagine the torment and loneliness of Jesus in the hours that followed. Yet Jesus endured that loneliness and persevered through the torment. As he endured his hardship, he did so to win a crown of victory for the world. Throughout his hardship, ultimately ending in his death on the cross, Jesus had one goal in mind. He came to make all people his own through his suffering and death on the cross.

That doesn't mean that it will always be easy for those who follow after Jesus. The Lord says, "I will refine them like silver and test them like gold." The Lord will allow hardships to enter the lives of his people to strengthen their faith and draw them closer to him. He does this to help his people hold on to him with an ever tighter grasp. Perhaps you experience this. Perhaps you are enduring a hardship in your life. Perhaps it has seemed like there is no one to help. It is just you and your pain and loneliness. And in that loneliness and pain you cry out to the Lord your God. And the Lord answers, "You are mine." What powerful words. You are not enduring your hardship on your own. Your God is with you. He has made you his own. You are led to grasp him even closer and declare, "The Lord is my God."