Jesus First - Week 3: “Jesus First In All Hardships”

Sep 27, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Railroad Tracks of Blessing and Sorrow

Life’s hardships and joys often run parallel like train tracks stretching into the horizon. Paul’s letter to the Colossians reframes struggle not as an interruption but as divine curriculum. Maturity comes when we hold both realities—the ache of difficulty and the assurance of Christ’s supremacy—without letting either distort our vision. Hardship becomes sacred ground where we learn to fix one eye on our pain and the other on the God who meets us there. This dual focus dismantles self-centered living, training us to see Christ’s sufficiency amid life’s contradictions. [48:28]

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” (Colossians 1:24, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel the tension of “parallel tracks” in your life right now—simultaneous joy and grief, clarity and confusion? How might this friction be an invitation to fix your eyes on Christ’s presence in both?

Day 2: Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

The mystery hidden for ages erupts in four words: Christ dwells within believers. This indwelling transforms suffering from meaningless agony into a furnace where hope is refined. Paul’s imprisonment became a megaphone for this truth—chains couldn’t silence the reality of Immanuel, God with us. When hardship shakes our foundations, it exposes the unshakable treasure buried in redeemed hearts. Our weakness becomes the stage for His glory. [01:01:19]

“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27, ESV)

Reflection: What current struggle makes you most aware of your limitations? How might Christ’s indwelling presence redefine what “strength” looks like in this situation?

Day 3: Struggling with His Energy Within

Paul’s labor wasn’t self-help grit but Spirit-fueled endurance. The phrase “his energy” reveals the paradox of Christian perseverance—we strain forward while being carried. Hardship strips away the illusion of self-sufficiency, forcing reliance on the divine current that powers our faltering steps. Like a child learning to walk, our stumbling becomes holy ground where we grasp the Father’s hand tighter. [01:02:09]

“For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” (Colossians 1:29, ESV)

Reflection: Where are you tempted to rely on your own stamina rather than Christ’s power? What practical step could help you “plug into” His energy today?

Day 4: Knit Together in Love’s Rough Fabric

Community isn’t optional armor—it’s the loom God uses to weave resilience into our faith. Paul’s concern for distant believers models how hardship softens hearts to intercede rather than isolate. Shared struggles become threads that bind us to others, creating a tapestry of mutual support. The call to be “knit together” turns our pain into purposeful connection. [01:11:45]

“That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ.” (Colossians 2:2, ESV)

Reflection: Who have you avoided in your current struggle? How might reaching out—even awkwardly—become a channel for Christ’s encouragement?

Day 5: The Bushman and the Warning of Love

True love risks being misunderstood to protect others. Just as the coach warned his pitcher, “Jesus is still Lord,” believers must speak hard truths wrapped in grace. Paul’s warnings against deception weren’t control but care—a refusal to let loved ones wander into spiritual danger. Hardship sharpens our discernment to both receive and give loving correction. [01:09:57]

“I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.” (Colossians 2:4, ESV)

Reflection: When has someone’s loving warning saved you from a hidden danger? Who in your circle needs you to courageously speak Christ-centered truth this week?

Sermon Summary

Paul’s words from prison put hardship right next to the supremacy of Christ. The Christ who is over all things also proves sufficient in all things. Hardship, then, is not an intruder to chase away as fast as possible. Hardship can be an invited friend from God, getting attention, softening hearts, and drawing people back to the center where Jesus belongs.

God never created people for me-first lives. God created people for the fullness of joy that comes when Jesus is first in every area. Hardship becomes a great reorienter because pain is hard to ignore, while God can be easy to ignore when life feels comfortable, busy, and resourced. The struggle is real, but so are God’s presence, power, and purpose in the middle of it.

Paul rejoices in suffering without pretending suffering is not painful. Paul rests joy on something deeper than circumstances: the big Jesus of Colossians 1. The supremacy of Jesus over all things leads to the sufficiency of Jesus in all things. Life often runs on parallel tracks, with blessing and sorrow, celebration and grief, provision and lack, clarity and uncertainty all showing up at the same time. Mature faith keeps one eye honest about hardship, one eye open to God’s provision, and both eyes lifted to Christ.

Paul’s “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” does not mean Christ’s atoning work was incomplete. Christ declared, “It is finished.” Paul points instead to the church’s costly participation in making Christ known. Righteous suffering calls for faithfulness, innocent suffering calls for prayerful surrender, and deserved suffering calls for repentance. Every kind of hardship can become a place where Christ meets His people and takes them deeper.

Paul’s ministry also shows that hardship helps people serve Jesus better. Jesus-first service centers on making the Word of God fully known, not making the servant known. Ministry is stewardship, something entrusted by God for the good of others. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” means Christian life is not striving to achieve something for Jesus, but allowing Jesus to work out what He is working in.

Love then refuses to turn inward when life hurts. Paul struggles for believers he has never met, seeking hearts encouraged and knit together in love. Christ holds all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, so believers do not need Jesus plus something else. Jesus is still Lord when the next five are struck out and when the next five are walked. Jesus is still Lord.

Key Takeaways

1. Hardship can reorient a me-first life. Hardship exposes how easily plans, preferences, and self-reliance can move God to the edges. God often uses pressure to call hearts back to the place of deepest joy: Jesus at the center. Pain does not automatically make a person spiritually mature, but surrendered pain can become a doorway into deeper fellowship with Christ. [37:28]
2. Christ’s sufficiency outlasts changing circumstances. Paul rejoices from prison because his joy is rooted in Christ rather than comfort. Christ is not merely supreme over the world from a distance; He is present and sufficient in the hardest places. Faith learns to name suffering honestly while still holding fast to the Lord who is above all and in all. [46:35]
3. Service is stewardship, not self-promotion. Paul sees his calling as something entrusted by God for the benefit of others. Hardship strips away the need for applause, recognition, and visible success, leaving the question: are others being brought toward maturity in Christ? Jesus-first service makes His Word known and seeks the good of people rather than the enlargement of a platform. [57:20]
4. Christ in believers changes how they serve. “Christ in you” means the Christian life flows from union with Jesus, not mere effort for Jesus. When approval fades, Christ’s presence, purpose, and power remain. The place of weakness can become the place where believers discover that when Jesus is all they have, Jesus is all they need. [61:19]
5. Love refuses to let others be blindsided. Paul’s love invests personally and protects spiritually, even while he himself suffers. Love warns when a bridge is out, teaches the truth with wisdom, and resists plausible arguments that pull people away from Christ. Believers experience the riches of Christ not in isolation, but as hearts are knit together in love.

## [69:32]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[29:40] - Jesus First in All Hardships
[30:59] - Reading Colossians 1:24 to 2:5
[33:34] - The Struggle Is Real
[35:58] - Hardship as an Invited Friend
[37:28] - God Uses Hardship to Reorient Hearts
[42:55] - Paul’s Suffering and Christ’s Sufficiency
[49:27] - What Is Lacking in Christ’s Afflictions?
[54:03] - Serving Jesus Without Virtue Signaling
[60:07] - Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
[62:55] - Maturity Through Warning and Teaching
[67:37] - Love Invests and Protects
[74:22] - Jesus Is Still Lord
[76:17] - Prayer for Those in Hardship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Colossians 1:24-2:5
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” [30:59]

John 16:33
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” [45:12]

Philippians 1:29
“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake.” [45:01]

Observation questions

In Colossians 1:24–2:5, what words or phrases describe Paul’s suffering, work, and concern for other believers?
What is Paul trying to accomplish through proclaiming Christ, warning people, and teaching with wisdom? [01:02:42]
According to Colossians 2:1–5, what does Paul want to see grow in the believers’ hearts and relationships?
What two kinds of harmful influences does Paul want to protect the church from, and what does he point them toward instead? [01:12:30]

Interpretation questions

Paul rejoices while suffering, yet he does not deny that suffering is real. What does this show about the kind of joy Christ gives believers? [46:35]
Paul says he is filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Why is this not saying that Jesus’ work on the cross was incomplete? What costly work of the church is still needed? [49:27]
Paul calls his ministry a stewardship given by God for others. How does this change the way a believer should think about gifts, influence, responsibilities, and opportunities to serve? [57:37]
Paul wants believers to be knit together in love so they will not be misled by convincing-sounding arguments. Why might isolation make someone more vulnerable to confusion or spiritual drift? [01:11:27]

Application questions

What hardship are you facing right now—whether in health, work, family, relationships, loss, or uncertainty? Rather than only asking, “Why is this happening to me?” what might it look like to ask God, “What are You doing in me through this?” [47:27]
Blessing and sorrow often run alongside each other. What is one hardship you need to name honestly, and what is one sign of God’s provision or presence you can also recognize in the same season? [48:12]
Which response best fits your present hardship: faithfulness in righteous suffering, prayerful surrender in innocent suffering, or repentance where your own choices have brought consequences? What would a next step in that response look like this week? [51:06]
Is there any area where serving Jesus has become tied to being noticed, appreciated, approved, or given credit? How could you take one quiet, Christ-centered step of service for someone else this week? [55:06]
“Christ in you” means Christian life flows from Jesus’ presence and power, not merely from striving harder. Where have you been trying to carry something through your own strength, and how can you bring that need to Christ in prayer? [01:01:30]
Who is one person God may be calling you to encourage, teach, warn lovingly, or pray for—even while you are carrying your own hardship? What is a practical way to invest in that person this week? [01:10:47]

Sermon Clips

29s

#ChristInYou

“Christ in you. That's our union with Jesus. So the Christian life isn't about you or me, like, trying to live for Jesus. That's not it. It's about you and me allowing Jesus to work out of us what he's working in. To work in and work out. So it's not an achievement that we get to, it's a union that we live out.”

44s

#ChristIsEnough

“That's why hardship helps me serve Jesus better because when all the approval and when all of the applause or whatever fades away for serving Jesus, you know what doesn't fade away? Jesus. His presence, his purpose, his power. So hardship can strip away all the things you thought you needed. And it leaves you standing there, listen, naked with nothing but the sufficiency of Christ in all things. And then you realize when Jesus is all you have, Jesus is all you need. You never learn it, you learn it.”

43s

#PurposeInPain

“When, friends, biblically speaking, hardship is not an intruder that you should chase away from your life. Hardship is an invited friend from God to help you walk deeper and deeper with him. So rather than chasing it off, we should try to figure out what God is doing with it. Because listen friends, God uses hardship to get your attention. God uses hardship to to to not only speak to your heart, but to soften your heart. And God uses hardship to help us grow into the people that we are intended to become.”

58s

#DifferenceMaker

“Fact is, friends, listen. If you don't hear anything, hear this. There is a world of difference between being a difference maker and a difference faker. What do you want to be? A difference maker? Gonna cost you. It's gonna be hard. Difference faker? Post it, share it, wear it, shout it. Now the reality is, friends, god is so good. He has this one tool that just strips all that away. It's called hardship. God allows hardship to enter into your serving, to strip away all the virtue ceiling that does not belong there. Because the reality is, friends, serving Jesus is about serving Jesus. It's not about being seen, known, noticed, applauded, or approved. That comes from him one day, not here from other people.”

38s

#JesusFirst

“How can he be suffering yet rejoicing? Well, it turns out he rests his joy on something more than his circumstances. And that's a real big Jesus who's not only over it all, but in it all. You see what's happening here? So Paul, friends, reframes his hardships. And my prayer for you and for me and for us today is that we would reframe our hardships from being a me first way of going through. Why is this happening to me? Woe is me. To a Jesus first perspective, that says, god, what are you doing here? What do you wanna do here?”

38s

#GodsPresence

“Because the truth is, your struggle is real, but guess what? So is God's presence in that hardship. The struggle is real, but so is God's power in that hardship. The struggle is real, and so is God's purpose for that hardship that transcends just the event itself. So here's the good news. Your present hardship is honestly your best opportunity to get real with God. Your present hardship is the best opportunity for you to get closer to God,”

29s

#DeeperWithJesus

“Reality is, friends, there's more to Jesus than you know. There will always be more to Jesus than you know. Question, you want it? Jesus is like an ocean. And we're all sitting on the little shoreline with our little floaties on, splashing in the water like we know, like we got it figured out. When he beckons, the spirit of God beckons to draw us deeper.”

31s

#FaithfulInSuffering

“Three different types of suffering, if you will. Here's the first one. The first type of suffering is righteous suffering. That's suffering for doing the will of God. You read about that in the Sermon on the Mount. You read about first Peter. It's all written about that very theme. Now righteous hardship, spreading the gospel, making Jesus known. If that's the hardship you're experiencing by obeying God, your posture is to be faithful. Keep on keeping on. Keep on believing. Keep on pressing on.”

44s

#LoveInAction

“So notice struggle. Here, again, Paul's struggling, and it's interesting that he himself is suffering yet. He's struggling for people he never met before. He's toiling for them. He's praying for them. He's writing letters to them. He's doing everything he can. I want you to notice, his struggle for others, there's the the words for you occur three times in this passage. This is Jesus like love, to invest in other people even though you're hurting. To not let your hurting turn you inward, but to let you take those depths of riches in Christ and share them with others. That's the beauty of what's going on here.”

45s

#BlessingsAndSorrow

“Life is like railroad tracks. Rarely in life do you alternate cleanly and neatly between a good season and a bad season? Usually, they run side by side together at the same time. More often than not in life, times of blessing and sorrow run side by side. More often than not, in life, times of, like, celebration and grief run side by side. Times of provision in one area and lack in another run side by side. And times of clarity about some things and uncertainty, just run side by side like parallel train tracks.”

36s

#ItIsFinished

“What's lacking in anything about Christ? Now here's what he's not saying. He's not saying the atonement of Jesus on the cross is incomplete. We know this for a number of reasons. One, the entire book of Hebrews is all about the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus. So that's sufficient. Last week, in the last couple weeks, we studied chapter one, which is all about the completed sufficient work of Christ on the cross. And when Jesus was hanging on the cross, among his last words in John nineteen thirty were, it is finished. So there's nothing lacking in Christ.”

30s

#OnlyJesus

“And remember now these false teachers were pushing the Colossians to center their lives around Jesus plus their philosophy or Jesus plus these spiritual experiences that you need to get. Jesus plus any kinda other thing. And Paul pushes back hard. He's like, no. No. No. No. No. No. As we learned last week, it's all about Jesus. It's only about Jesus. It's always about Jesus. So here's the good news. I don't know if you picked this up, but want you to notice in this passage”

21s

#GodKnowsYourStruggle

“For many of us here today, your hardship is a private battle that no one knows anything about. But listen, God knows. And he brought you here today. And in our time together, God is going to speak to that and draw close to you in the midst of it.”

28s

#JoyInJesus

“We will never experience the fullness of joy that we were created to know until Jesus is first in every area of our lives. You know that's true. You know it. You read that and it hits you and you're like, that's true. The reality is between that truth and the living of it, something needs to be altered. And the reality is enter hardship, the gift of God.”

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