A Savior Acquainted with Grief
Isaiah 53:3-6
3 He was despised and rejected — a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
John 11:32-36
32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”
Jesus wept at Lazarus's tomb even though He knew He would raise him from the dead. This reveals something profound: our Savior doesn't minimize our pain. He enters into it. Isaiah calls Him "a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." He understands betrayal, abandonment, physical suffering, and the weight of loss.
When you bring your pain to Jesus, you're not bringing it to someone who only knows suffering theoretically. You're bringing it to One who has walked through the valley Himself. He doesn't rush your grief or shame your tears. The God who numbers the hairs on your head also collects your tears in a bottle.
The pain of grief is the price we pay for love—and it's a price worth paying. Jesus understands both the love and the loss.
Reflection: What burden can you bring honestly before Jesus today, knowing He truly understands?
3 He was despised and rejected — a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows[a] that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
John 11:32-36
32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”
Jesus wept at Lazarus's tomb even though He knew He would raise him from the dead. This reveals something profound: our Savior doesn't minimize our pain. He enters into it. Isaiah calls Him "a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief." He understands betrayal, abandonment, physical suffering, and the weight of loss.
When you bring your pain to Jesus, you're not bringing it to someone who only knows suffering theoretically. You're bringing it to One who has walked through the valley Himself. He doesn't rush your grief or shame your tears. The God who numbers the hairs on your head also collects your tears in a bottle.
The pain of grief is the price we pay for love—and it's a price worth paying. Jesus understands both the love and the loss.
Reflection: What burden can you bring honestly before Jesus today, knowing He truly understands?
Posted in Daily Devotions
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