There is a common phrase in our modern political world – ‘I feel your pain’. Politicians use the phrase to attempt to garner votes by trying to convince people that they really care about their situation and will work on their behalf. It is usually shallow and condescending. It does not reflect genuine care, but rather seeks to ingratiate the speaker to the listener.
If experience would teach us anything, it is not to believe the rhetoric, but rather look for tangible proof. Yet, it seems people continue to be taken in by insincere compassion. They find out later that they have been misled once again. Is there anyone whom you can believe?
Yes! There is One who truly does feel our pain. Jesus, the Son of God, came as a man born of a woman. He willingly submitted Himself to the human condition. We have a Savior who is eminently qualified to empathize with us in our afflictions, and to whom, therefore, we may look for aid and support in trials. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV). You are invited to cast all your cares on Him, “for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV).
Not only does Jesus care, He can and will do something about a believer’s petitions. We have the authority of scripture and the testimonies of untold millions of Christians across the centuries as tangible evidence. There are few among us who have not experienced the Lord’s help or personally know someone who has. An affirmation at the heart of the Church around the world is “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him. How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er.”
A friend recently gave me the devotional book titled ‘A Song In My Heart’ by Robert J. Morgan. In its pages, I discovered the words of a hymn I had never heard. The last verse of ‘All My Heart With Joy Is Springing’ touched my heart. It stirred the thoughts contained in this devotional. May the words of that verse bless your heart like they have mine.
Ye who strive with fierce temptation,
Sorrow-stung, conscience-wrung,
Here is consolation;
For the woes which men inherit
Christ can feel, Christ will heal
Every wounded spirit (Paul Gerhardt)
Conclusion: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV).
~ Brother Roy
New Hope International Ministries 