He Cares

He Cares

There are some verses in the Bible that I’ve read many times. In fact, I am so used to some verses that I often forget the real impact of what they are saying.

Take Hebrews 4:15, for example. That verse tells us that Jesus was tempted in all things, just like we are, yet without sin.

Did you notice the word "all"? Think about the ramifications of that. Jesus lived life in a body made of flesh and blood and He experienced what we experience. He laughed and cried, loved and hated, rejoiced and got angry, got hungry and thirsty and, at times, He was so tired that He had to stop and rest.

And He grieved.

I don't know about you, but it comforts me to know that Jesus experienced the hardest parts of life, just like I do. It’s hard to grieve alone.

At some point in His life, we know that Jesus lost His earthly father, Joseph. We don’t know much about that, but we have a very stirring insight into another moment of loss for Him.

In John 11, Jesus arrived in Bethany at the house of His friends: Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Lazarus had just died and Jesus, coming to visit the family, was greeted by his sisters. He looked at the mourners and as He approached the grave, He was overcome with emotion.

John 11:33

"When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled."

This story of Jesus’ compassion and grief brings us the shortest, yet perhaps the most impactful, verse in the entire New Testament.

John 11:35

"Jesus wept."

When I go through the grieving process, during a time of loss, I remember these words and I remind myself that this is something Jesus did, too. “I can get through this. He knows how to comfort me. He has been there.”

I find it comforting that He knows me and understands me because He has been there, too. It means that He cares.

1 Peter 5:6-7

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."

He cares for us. What message could be simpler or more comforting and meaningful?