HE UNDERSTANDS by Pastor Shah (Clearview Church, Henderson)
(This article was published in the local newspaper The Daily Dispatch on 5/20/19)
“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest…” (Hebrews 2:17)
How many of you remember telling your parents – “You just don’t understand.” How many of you have heard those same words from your kids? Why do we say that? Because we think that our struggles are so unique that unless others step into our shoes, they’ll never understand what we’re going through. Employees think that their employer doesn’t understand and employers think that their employees don’t understand. The husband thinks that his wife doesn’t understand and the wife thinks that her husband doesn’t understand. Some people go through their whole life claiming no one understands what they’ve been through. Although our struggles are unique and painful to us, it’s not true that no one understands. There is one who always understand and his name is Jesus. There is no situation known to any human being to which he cannot relate. He was fully God who became fully man so he could die in our place…but, there’s more. The reason he lived 33 years before he went to the cross was so that he could truly relate with us and help us in our time of need. Here’s are just a few things that he understands:
Are you hungry? Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting in the wilderness.
Are you thirsty? From the cross Jesus cried, “I thirst.”
Are you exhausted? Jesus was so swamped by the multitudes that he and his disciples did not even have time to eat.
Are you dealing with temptation? The Devil himself harassed Jesus.
Are you homeless? Jesus said in Luke 9:58 “…Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Have you been mocked? Jesus was ridiculed for being from Nazareth.
Are you grieving? Jesus had compassion on the grieving widow who had lost her only son and brought him back to life.
Are you angry? Jesus was angry at the Pharisees who tried to use the sickness of a man to trap Jesus into healing him on the Sabbath.
Have you dealt with abuse? Listen to Jesus in Matthew 18 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. 6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Are you having family trouble? Jesus’ brothers refused to believe in him.
Are you afraid for your life? Jesus had to avoid Judea because his enemies were trying to kill him.
Are you lonely and feel betrayed? One of his own disciples betrayed him and the rest forsook Him and fled.
Have you been falsely accused? False accusations were hurled at Jesus on the night before he was crucified.
Are you in physical pain? John 19 1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head…” And then they crucified him between two thieves.
Someone might say that Jesus does not understand what marriage is all about since he never married. It’s true that Jesus did not have an earthly wife but he was in a covenant relationship with his people Israel in the Old Testament. He knows what it is to be cheated on. Furthermore, the church is called the bride of Christ.
How about wayward children? He gets it. After all, he gave the parable of the Prodigal Son.
I can go on and on. The point is that he understands whatever you are going through and he is willing to meet your need. Call on him today.
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