Jesus Knows

Read: Psalm 69:13-20

"Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? -  John 12:27

Life is so hard sometimes, and so often full of pain and sorrow. We struggle with trouble and trials, which continually flood our life. Eventually, we have to tread water just to be able to breathe. Threatening to choke the very life from us, wave after wave of stress and betrayal wash over us. We wonder, sometimes, how we will ever muster the strength to tread water through another day. We are scorned, disgraced and shamed; surrounded by enemies. This breaks our heart and we feel helpless. We look for sympathy, but there is none; for comforters, but we find none. Well, I am here to tell you that Jesus knows exactly how you feel (Isaiah 53:3).

God took on human form and came to live as Jesus on the earth. As God, He knew His mission, and He set His face toward the cross. However, as a man, He experienced problems similar to ours. He suffered from step-sibling rivalry (John 1:11), the stresses of making a living (Matthew 6:3), the sorrow of rejection (Isaiah 53:3), the strain of false accusations (Luke 23:4-5), the pain of betrayal (John 13:2) and the adjustments of growing up in obscurity in an Israeli town occupied by a foreign nation (John 1:10).

In addition to all of this, however, He also suffered spiritual separation from the Father, which ripped a cry of anguish from His chest (Matthew 27:46). He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with the deepest grief, just like we are. Due to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, however, we will never experience this utter abandonment and rejection from our Father God.

Prior to the crucifixion, Jesus drew aside to the garden of Gethsemane with a few of his trusted friends. He requested that they pray with Him, to keep watch with Him on His last day of freedom on this earth. Then, He went a few feet away from them and pleaded to God for another way to satisfy the penalty of our sin. Yet, even in the face of the horrendous crucifixion, He went forward with the Father's will, to bring God glory and to bring us Salvation.

With Christ in us, we too can follow God’s will for our life, ready to do whatever He requires of us; no matter what it costs, regardless of how much it hurts, and in spite of how long it takes. God gives us the presence of His Holy Spirit to sustain us throughout our lifetime. When we come to the place where God possesses all of our heart, we receive God’s abundant blessings, which bring far greater joy than the fulfillment of any of our selfish desires.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I give You my life. Let it unfold, not according to my will, plans, goals or desires, but according to Your will and purpose. Use me as You see fit, and change lives by Your Spirit dwelling within me.

Thought for the Day:

Only through complete surrender and submission to God’s perfect plan for our life can we ever find true fulfillment.