By Greg Laurie
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief . . . Surely He has borne our grief and carried our
sorrows.
—Isaiah 53:3–4
When we think of God, we usually consider that fact that He is
righteous, holy, loving, and good. But here is something else to consider about
God: He is the God who has suffered. We don't tend to think that a perfect
Creator would experience such a human trait as human pain and suffering. After
all, why would you suffer if you did not have to?
But God has suffered, and more deeply than any of us could ever
imagine. In his book The
Cross of Christ, John Stott said, "Our God is a
suffering God." And I think he is right.
Listen to Isaiah's description of what Jesus (who was God) went
through at Calvary:
"He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief . . . Surely He has borne our grief and
carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and
afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our
iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we
are healed." (Isaiah 53:3-5)
"A man of suffering." That was Jesus. But why did God
suffer? Because He loved and loves. That means He also enters into our
suffering as well.
Hebrews 2:17-18 tells us:
"Therefore, it was necessary for him to be
made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be
our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a
sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has
gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being
tempted" (NLT).
You are not alone in your suffering today. Jesus has been there and
walked in your shoes and He is here for you right now. Call out to Him.