What do you say to someone who’s just lost her only child? Is there anything you can say? When a mother mourning the death of her son poured out her heart to me, mine broke with hers.
At the end of our session, she surprised me by thanking me. Unlike someone else she’d spoken with, she could tell I got it. Her words stunned me.
Have you ever poured out your heart to someone only to be met with a blank stare? You risked sharing your vulnerable feelings, and the one you confided in didn’t get you. What a difference a sympathetic ear makes.
What makes the difference? The book of Hebrews shows us.
This trip through Hebrews has struck me more than ever with the importance of the incarnation. Without it, we wouldn’t have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses.
Our High Priest Sympathizes with Our Weaknesses
“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15 NASB).
In His incarnation Jesus felt the limits of being human. He went through birth, growing and learning, rejection, and death. He felt tired and hungry. Like one adjusting to limited strength after a major surgery, the full restrictions of human weakness were real.
Jesus overcame a level of temptation we’ll never know. We’ve never resisted to the point of shedding blood. But He sweat drops like blood in His anguish when preparing to become the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (Luke 22:44). He stayed on the cross while passersby taunted Him to come down—and He could have.
Our High Priest Shares in Our Suffering
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:7-10 NIV).
Have you ever cried so hard you couldn’t catch your breath?
Hebrews 5 provides a peek into Jesus’ most vulnerable moments on earth. Because pain is the great equalizer and connector of humankind, Jesus had to suffer deeply, as well as die, to become our perfect High Priest. To perfectly represent us before God, He had to experience the deepest anguish any of us would ever suffer.
The night before His crucifixion, His body sweat, His eyes wept, and His voice cried out in deep anguish. He gets it when we come to Him with our suffering. He feels our pain.
Why This Changes How We Pray
A woman freshly widowed expressed her frustration over having to sort out her deceased husband’s social security. “I can’t find anyone who can help. They keep sending me on the same merry-go-round that leads nowhere.”
Our High Priest doesn’t just sympathize with our feelings; He reaches down to help us. He provides wisdom, endurance, and patience. He fills us with peace and joy. And He sets up divine encounters with people skilled in what we need.
In the days that followed, God resolved the social security issue for the grieving widow and showed His tender care down to providing a carton of orange juice the morning she craved some.
When sorrow and pain knock you to your knees and you’re tempted to ask, “Where is God?” Picture Jesus in the garden pleading with loud cries and tears, asking His Father to save Him out of death. He understands your pain. He doesn’t despise your weakness; He understands. Because He became human, He truly gets you and sympathizes with your struggles.
And even better, just as His Father brought Jesus out of death, He will bring you through your suffering.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16 NIV).
You’ll never receive a blank stare from Jesus.
Hallelujah! What a Savior.
Blessings,
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When we lost our son to Cancer when he was 30, the best comfort came from others who knew our loss. That’s the power of the Holy Spirit.
Oh Jane, I’m so sorry for your loss. The fellowship of His sufferings extends to those who know suffering.
Debbie, thank you for the reminder about how much our High Priest cares for us.
What a wonderful reminder for us all. Thanks, Yvonne.
What a Savior indeed!!!!!!
Yes, Amen!
“You’ll never receive a blank stare from Jesus.” Amen! Even if we can’t express what we are feeling – He knows! There is no God like Him!
He really does understand. I’m finally beginning to really appreciate what the incarnation meant for Him and us.
Debbie, thank you for reassuring us that Jesus never gives us a blank stare.
What a comfort!
It touches my heart so much to know He understands and sympathizes with our suffering.
Barbara, I feel the same way. This trip through Hebrews has moved me deeply.
“You’ll never receive a blank stare from Jesus.” Amen!
What a comfort!
Praise God for his love, mercy and faithfulness that NEVER fail (Lamentations 3:22-23)! And praise him also for those people he brings alongside who can empathize, comfort, and help. He supplies EVERY need (Philippians 4:19)!
Amen! Thanks, Nancy.
I’m so happy we’ll never receive a blank stare from Jesus. Praises to him on high he who gets us.
Visiting today from Joanne’s
Me too, Paula! What a Savior!
Ps: Thanks bunches for sharing with Sweet Tea & friends this month sweet friend.
It’s so incredible to know that God knows us and understands us better than anyone. We are blessed
Yes we are! Thanks, Yvonne.
“Jesus won’t look at us with a blank stare.” That’s such a comforting thought–to know that He always listens, understands our pain and sorrow, and grants comfort. I remember crying out in pain when I became a widow and He answered my call for help.
Oh Katherine, that touches me to hear how you experienced His help in your time of deep sorrow. Thank you for sharing.
‘He reaches down to help us. He provides wisdom, endurance, and patience. He fills us with peace and joy. And He sets up divine encounters with people skilled in what we need.’
What a wonderful Savior, so concerned about our every need, ever present in time of trouble. Thanks for this always needed reminder, Debbie.
Thank you, Linda. What a Savior!