He Suffers With Us

I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who lost his mother last week and his brother yesterday. My heart sank as I heard him share about all they’ve been through in recent weeks. I shared with him a promise from God’s Word that I want to share with you today. GOD IS WITH YOU and JESUS SUFFERS WITH US.

1 Peter 2:23 “When He (Christ) suffered, He did not threaten but continued entrusting Himself to God the Father who judges justly.”

Jesus said “I will send you the Comforter and He will be with you, teaching you all that I’ve taught.” John 14-15

God the Father repeatedly invites the people of Israel to come to Him and let Him take care of them, even in their broken state. Jesus comes on the scene and makes that invitation more personal than ever.

I shared on Sunday that God is our Father who picks us up and rubs our back when we’ve fallen. We have a 20 month old, foster baby with us right now. Sometimes Lukas falls and gets hurt. We’ll, he’s a boy so this happens frequently. Lately, he’s run to me a little faster than before, arms in the air, knowing I will pick him up, rub his back as he rests his head on my shoulder. He knows I’m there for him. He knows I’ll comfort him. He knows too that if needed, I’ll try to explain what to do next time to avoid the pain.

God is no different. He is our Father who cares deeply when we are stressed out or experiencing grief.

Hagar in the book of Genesis called God “The God Who Sees” because she discovers that God DID see her, know her and call her by name. She wasn’t just an Egyptian Servant, she was known by God. God knows you and knows your pain. Jesus dealt with loss, grief, betrayal… all these emotions that we feel. God, through Jesus, has true empathy for us. He bottles our tears and when we trust in Him and His plan for eternity, we can be assured that one day “He will wipe every tear” and you and I will dance on streets of gold and rejoice with all the elders singing “Worthy is the Lamb!”