He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief…Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. Isaiah 53:3-4

 

Pain can be devastating and debilitating. It’s also often a lonely experience.

 

A woman shared how in one week, her family had experienced an earthquake, lost electricity, and had their home robbed. Then her husband lost his job, and her child fell and broke his leg. She needed comfort and friendship as she recounted the string of tragic events. With tears in her eyes, she longed for the nearness of a friend even more than she needed these situations to be “fixed.”

 

No one draws nearer in grief and loss than Jesus. No one knows pain’s devastation like God does. Did you ever stop to realize that God has experienced loss and pain? Sometimes we associate God’s strength with being untouchable, but the whole Bible shows us that we can see God’s emotions to our stories—He’s moved by our condition! Scripture speaks of Jesus’s human life like this: “He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief…Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down” (Isaiah 53:3-4).

 

No, Jesus didn’t just observe our pain from the comfort of heaven or solve it from a safe distance. Jesus came to experience and carry our pain, along with the cost of sin. Imagine a God willing to experience rejection, pain and betrayal, all to save you from it.

 

God is near to you in your pain (Psalm 34:18) because He’s chosen to feel it. He comforts you in your grief as One who has experienced and understands it. And God can meet you in your helplessness. He’s the only One who has also come up with a solution to the brokenness in our lives– bringing His nearness, empathy, and power.