Seven Cross Teachings for Surviving Brutal Seasons

Scripture gives the manual for life, and the question of brutal seasons goes straight to the Word of God. Broken people live in a broken world with broken bodies, so hard days are not strange. The days come when another person’s decision wounds deeply, when personal choices bring pain, or when life just happens through sickness, loss, death, or crisis. Jesus gives the perfect example for getting through the valley, because Jesus himself walked through the most brutal day at the cross.

Hebrews calls believers to keep their eyes on Jesus, because Jesus both began and finished the race. Christ did not float above pain like it did not hurt. Christ emptied himself, took on flesh, and felt nails, thorns, mocking, and abandonment as a real man. Because Jesus has been through it, Jesus understands weakness and can be approached with confidence.

The cross shows seven statements that teach how brutal seasons are endured. Jesus first says, “Father, forgive them,” while the people hurting him are still hurting him. Forgiveness does not minimize evil, erase pain, or instantly restore trust. Forgiveness releases the record into God’s hands, because resentment will turn any day into a bad day.

Jesus then turns to the criminal beside him and says, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Christ helps someone else who is suffering while he himself is suffering. That kind of love tells God that the burden is being trusted to him, and Isaiah says that light rises in darkness when a person spends himself for the hungry and oppressed.

Jesus also looks down at Mary and John and makes sure his mother is cared for. Christ does not take his worst day out on the people closest to him. The people God entrusts to someone should not receive the anger that belongs somewhere else.

Jesus cries, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The question “why” is real, but Jesus does not let silence become rebellion. Jesus keeps trusting the Father when the answer does not come.

Jesus says, “I am thirsty,” showing that need is not weakness. People are not fully self sufficient, and the church is meant to carry each other’s burdens. Jesus then says, “It is finished,” proving that pain is never pointless and storms never last forever. Finally, Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Peace comes when the weight is surrendered into the hands of the God who holds the world.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Forgiveness breaks resentment’s grip Forgiveness is not pretending the wound was small, and it is not saying trust must be instantly rebuilt. Forgiveness places the record of wrongs into God’s hands instead of letting bitterness keep rewriting the same pain every day. Unforgiveness does not punish the person who caused the wound as much as it keeps the wounded person chained to the brutal season. [48:40]
• 2. Helping others brightens dark days Jesus comforts the criminal beside him while hanging in his own agony. That kind of love moves the eyes off the problem without denying that the problem is real. Serving another sufferer becomes an act of trust, because the burden is handed to God while the hands are opened toward someone else. [52:51]
• 3. Closest people deserve the best Jesus thinks about Mary while enduring the cross, and that exposes how often pain gets dumped on the wrong people. The family, friends, and church family God has entrusted to a person should not become the emotional punching bag for a brutal day. Love is most tested not in public kindness but in how pain is carried at home. [55:42]
• 4. Silence does not cancel trust Jesus asks “why” from the cross, so the question itself is not faithlessness. The danger comes when unanswered why turns into anger, rebellion, or hatred toward God. Faith keeps holding on when heaven seems quiet, trusting that one day God will make clear that he has always done right. [57:34]
• 5. Surrender puts pain in God’s hands Jesus’ final word is not control but surrender: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Brutal seasons become heavier when human strength, wisdom, money, pleasure, or people are treated like saviors. Peace comes when fear, sickness, addiction, grief, and brokenness are placed into the hands of the only One strong enough to sustain. [65:36]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [37:14] - Asking Questions With God’s Word
• [40:21] - Getting Through Brutal Seasons
• [42:40] - Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
• [45:31] - Seven Words From the Cross
• [46:04] - Forgive Those Who Hurt You
• [51:06] - Help Others in the Same Struggle
• [53:56] - Care for Those Closest to You
• [56:18] - Trust God When Why Goes Unanswered
• [58:48] - Be Human Enough to Need Help
• [61:40] - Purpose and an End
• [63:42] - Surrender the Season to God
• [67:20] - Nothing Is Too Hard for God
• [73:14] - Prayer for Brutal Seasons

Bible Reading

Luke 23:34
“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide his garments.” [47:51]

Luke 23:43
“And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” [52:22]

John 19:26-27
“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” [55:30]

Matthew 27:46
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” [57:21]

John 19:28
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’” [59:27]

John 19:30
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” [01:02:38]

Luke 23:46
“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last.” [01:05:04]

Hebrews 12:2-3
“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” [43:04]

Isaiah 58:10
“if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.”

Matthew 6:14-15
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” [49:33]

Observation questions

1. In the passages about the cross, what are some of the specific things Jesus says while he is suffering, and who is he speaking to in those moments? [45:31]
2. In Luke 23:34 and Matthew 6:14-15, what repeated theme appears about forgiveness, and how strongly is it stated?
3. In John 19:26-27, what practical step does Jesus take to care for his mother while he is on the cross? [55:30]
4. In John 19:28 and Luke 23:46, what do Jesus’ words “I thirst” and “into your hands I commit my spirit” show about both his human need and his trust in the Father? [01:05:04]

Interpretation questions

1. Hebrews 12:2-3 says believers should keep their eyes on Jesus and consider how he endured hostility. Why is that especially important in brutal seasons instead of mainly focusing on the pain itself? [43:04]
2. Jesus says, “Father, forgive them,” while people are still hurting him. What does that reveal about what forgiveness is, and what it is not? [48:40]
3. Jesus promises paradise to the criminal beside him while suffering on the same cross. How can helping someone else in pain become an act of trust in God rather than denial of personal pain? [52:51]
4. Jesus asks, “Why have you forsaken me?” and yet continues trusting the Father. What is the difference between honestly asking God “why” and letting unanswered pain become rebellion? [57:34]

Application questions

1. Is there a person whose wrong is still being carried around like a record that keeps getting replayed? What might it look like to place that record into God’s hands without pretending the wound was small or forcing trust to be rebuilt overnight? [50:26]
2. When life gets heavy, does the heart usually turn inward or outward? Who is one hurting person that could be encouraged, served, or checked on this week as a way of trusting God with personal burdens? [53:26]
3. Brutal seasons often get taken out on the people closest to us. Who usually receives the worst of the frustration at home, and what would it look like to give those closest people greater gentleness this week? [56:18]
4. Is there a “why” question that has been living in the heart for a long time? How has that question affected trust in God, and what would it mean to keep trusting even without a full answer yet? [58:19]
5. Jesus said, “I thirst,” showing that need is not weakness. What kind of help is hardest to ask for right now—prayer, encouragement, practical help, counsel, or something else? What makes asking so difficult? [01:00:51]
6. “It is finished” means pain is not pointless and storms do not last forever. In the middle of a hard season, what helps a person remember that this is not the whole story? [01:03:42]
7. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” is the language of surrender. What burden needs to be named plainly before God right now—fear, grief, sickness, anger, addiction, family strain, or something else—and what would surrendering that burden actually look like this week? [01:05:36]