Wednesday, August 17, 2022
The God Who Suffers
“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 the 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.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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Can we really know God exists? Can the Bible be trusted? Did Jesus truly rise from the dead? In the newly updated edition of I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, Frank Turek and Norman Geisler examine the evidence for Christianity and show why biblical faith stands up to serious questions. Request your copy this month with your gift to Harvest Ministries.
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