“They gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it” (Mark 15:23)

There’s a reason Christ didn’t accept the drug to ease His pain. Long before, He looked down at planet Earth and measured the depths of human misery; He knew the sum total of all the agonies He would experience to pay the debt for sin, and He didn’t relent. He determined, if He was to offer the atoning sacrifice, He must go the whole way, from the highest to the lowest, from the throne of highest glory to the cross of deepest woe. This drink, with its dulling effect, would have spared Him from experiencing the utmost limit of misery, He therefore, refused it.

He wouldn’t stop short of the full measure of suffering for His people. Oh, how many of us would have taken the opportunity to limit our grief! We would have figured every which way to suffer the least amount possible. But God has called us to love Him with His unconditional love. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). This includes suffering for His sake: “When you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:20-21). “No one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this” (1 Thessalonians 3:1).

Oh, it’s sweet to be able to say, "My Lord, if I can honor You more by suffering, and if the loss of my Earthly all will bring You glory, then so let it be. I refuse the comfort, if it comes at the expense of Your honor."

Oh, that we would walk in the footsteps of our Lord, cheerfully enduring trial for His sake, promptly and willingly putting away the thought of self and comfort when it would interfere with His work. This requires great grace, but great grace is given.