In Luke 21 we have Jesus telling about things to come, warnings of things to come.

Proverbs 28:27 says that those who give to the poor will not lack. If you want to be prepared for hard times ahead, give what you have to give today. Give to the poor.

The widow isn’t giving to the poor. She is poor. And yet, she gives the most. She gave all she had to live on. She had it settled in her heart that she could trust God, that giving was the way to having what you need.

Jesus doesn’t scold her for not being prudent. He praises her and recognizes her as having given the most.

On a different note, just think of that for a moment in terms of reward we’ll receive from God. She will have the greater reward for her giving than someone giving millions. The seed that produces the fruit comes from the heart, not from what you see externally.

Jesus lists things like famines and pestilences and terrors. Then He goes on to talk about being persecuted and thrown into prison. Jesus calls it an opportunity.

All the trouble His disciples will face is an opportunity to bear witness. Jesus tells them to settle it in their minds not to think about how to answer the accusations against them. That feels like an impossibility to me! Good thing we have a Savior.

We’re to settle these things now. Don’t wait until you are in distress to try to get your thinking straight. We must know now who God is and who we are in Christ. We must know we can rely on Him to be our wisdom and to give us His word. We must settle it that we can trust Him no matter the circumstance.

We are told we’ll be hated by all for the sake of Jesus. Can you bear that? Do you need people to like you? You need to get over that. You need to settle the matter in your heart.

In the same breath Jesus says that some of His disciples will be put to death and that not even a hair of your head will perish. How does that make any sense?

Jesus says we will gain our lives by endurance. We hold onto faith and righteousness even if it leads to death. That’s how we live.