Sadly we live in a very corrupted world and we all suffer with pain at different stages of life. Whether it be the pain of a broken heart, rejection, betrayal, abuse, theft or loss - no one is exempt. We will all fall victim to sickness at some stage in this life and suffer pain in our bodies. Some pain can be managed, some we try to ignore, some can be medicated. As humans we will all taste the cold sting of grief, sadness and death whether it be the loss of a loved one or even the impending end of our own life. The sad truth is this world is a world that is in decay and no one can escape the reality of pain. So where do we go when the pain gets too much? Do we run the to the arms of another hoping that intimacy will be the cure? Do we find a drug to numb our senses and let us continue on with parts of us missing and switched off? Do we find comfort in the bottle and the temporary insensitivity it brings? Or do we punish our bodies with more pain to hide the real one that aches deep inside? The truth is that none of the above are the answer to our pain.
The answer to our pain is in One that went before us and bore the pain of the world that dark day He hung on the cross for you and me. That day that the sky went black for hours, the earth shook and Jesus cried "My God why have you forsaken me?" wasn't just because Jesus had taken on the sin of the whole world on Himself - but also the pain of the whole world. The prophet Isaiah said of Jesus "Surely He has carried our grief and sorrows..." and "by His wounds we are healed...". Jesus doesn't just care about your eternal destiny but also about the affairs of this life including your pain. He cares about ALL of you and everything that happens in your life! 1 Peter 5:7 says "throw all your cares and concerns on Jesus, because He cares for you!". That day when Jesus hung on that cross, He not only did all that so we could be saved but also so that we could rely on Him in our times of pain. In the final hours before Jesus death even the hardened roman soldiers that were ordered with His cruel execution had pity on Him seeing how much pain He was in and allowed Him to be given drugged wine to numb the pain.
Jesus refused this "easy road" and instead chose to bear the full weight of our pain that day. Because of that He is our Strong Saviour. He felt pain, bore it, stared it in the eyes and still finished what He came here to do. Jesus didn't die that day because of the pain inflicted upon Him, or the wounds, or the blood loss or any physical condition. Jesus died that day because when He had completed what He came here to do He chose to die saying "It is finished!". Pain didn't kill Him - He chose to die when He was ready as the Hero and Saviour He truly is. So know this, when those days of pain come that it just seems too much, too hard and you just want to end it all and run to the easy way out - there is One that went before you and carried your pain all the way up that dusty hill, all the way through the whippings, the mocking, the rejection and the abandonment, the loneliness and the darkness - All for You. When I picture Jesus on the cross that day I don't see a Jewish man in His 30's beaten, bleeding and hanging on a cross dying a miserable death - instead I see the King of all Kings, the Lord of Glory, The Creator of All things with His arms stretched out wide saying "Come! Bring all your pain, all your sorrow, all that hurts you and give it to me!". Your pain died that day on the cross with Jesus. Let Jesus bear your pain today, He can take it. I pray for you that if you are in pain that God will show you the way to give it to the nail scarred hands of the One that loves you more than time itself.
[ Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28 ]
The answer to our pain is in One that went before us and bore the pain of the world that dark day He hung on the cross for you and me. That day that the sky went black for hours, the earth shook and Jesus cried "My God why have you forsaken me?" wasn't just because Jesus had taken on the sin of the whole world on Himself - but also the pain of the whole world. The prophet Isaiah said of Jesus "Surely He has carried our grief and sorrows..." and "by His wounds we are healed...". Jesus doesn't just care about your eternal destiny but also about the affairs of this life including your pain. He cares about ALL of you and everything that happens in your life! 1 Peter 5:7 says "throw all your cares and concerns on Jesus, because He cares for you!". That day when Jesus hung on that cross, He not only did all that so we could be saved but also so that we could rely on Him in our times of pain. In the final hours before Jesus death even the hardened roman soldiers that were ordered with His cruel execution had pity on Him seeing how much pain He was in and allowed Him to be given drugged wine to numb the pain.
Jesus refused this "easy road" and instead chose to bear the full weight of our pain that day. Because of that He is our Strong Saviour. He felt pain, bore it, stared it in the eyes and still finished what He came here to do. Jesus didn't die that day because of the pain inflicted upon Him, or the wounds, or the blood loss or any physical condition. Jesus died that day because when He had completed what He came here to do He chose to die saying "It is finished!". Pain didn't kill Him - He chose to die when He was ready as the Hero and Saviour He truly is. So know this, when those days of pain come that it just seems too much, too hard and you just want to end it all and run to the easy way out - there is One that went before you and carried your pain all the way up that dusty hill, all the way through the whippings, the mocking, the rejection and the abandonment, the loneliness and the darkness - All for You. When I picture Jesus on the cross that day I don't see a Jewish man in His 30's beaten, bleeding and hanging on a cross dying a miserable death - instead I see the King of all Kings, the Lord of Glory, The Creator of All things with His arms stretched out wide saying "Come! Bring all your pain, all your sorrow, all that hurts you and give it to me!". Your pain died that day on the cross with Jesus. Let Jesus bear your pain today, He can take it. I pray for you that if you are in pain that God will show you the way to give it to the nail scarred hands of the One that loves you more than time itself.
[ Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28 ]
