No pain or brokenness I’ve experienced compares to the agony Jesus endured. What amazes me is how He gave such tender love to others even when He was in the midst of agonizing pain. What an example to us all about how to walk through pain and suffering!
When Jesus lives in us, we possess HIS power to love—even on our worst days.
While enduring the most agonizing times in my life, I have rarely stopped to consider helping someone else. Have you? I have been too preoccupied with helping myself survive and trying to keep myself from completely falling apart. But, this devotional was an eye-opener for me!
Jesus set the standard for loving sacrifice. The Gospels describe how He was mocked, beaten beyond recognition, stripped, nailed to a cross, and pierced with a spear. He left a blood trail from Pilate’s court to Golgotha. As He hung on the cross, the rough wood tore at the raw, bleeding flesh on his back. His hands and feet screamed with pain as He gasped for each precious breath. His heart was broken to know that an even worse place awaited Him the moment He drew His last breath because He knew His beloved Father would forsake Him as He took upon Himself the sins of the world. There has never been greater agony suffered in the history of the world!!!
Yet—what did HE do amidst His unfathomable pain and suffering?
He loved. He helped those He loved. Jesus loved those who hated Him. That’s what His sacrifice was all about. Can you even imagine?
For example, the Bible records that—while on the cross—He implored a disciple to look after His mother. (John 19:26-27) And—when the criminal hanging beside him on the cross asked Him for salvation Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43) He was suffering for the sins of this criminal…yet He helped Him.
Incredible!
Hanging on the cross, Jesus was “marred beyond recognition” (Isaiah 52), yet He recognized the needs of those around Him. In His brokenness, Jesus didn’t lash out, throw a pity party, or call down angels to exact vengeance upon His enemies. He loved. He still does.
How do I measure up to HIS standard? Not even close. Do I find myself empowered to love when I’m suffering? Not like I could be. Believe me, this ability comes only from God. But…I CAN if I want to!
With Jesus inside of me, I’m stronger than I imagine and can love greater than I can fathom.
How?
By being more like Jesus in ALL areas of my life—ALL the time!
Because Jesus paid the full price for us through His gift of salvation—we possess the power to love beyond what we comprehend. When we exercise this gift and minister amidst our pain, we experience the flow of supernatural love. It is an extraordinary gift of God’s Spirit. This love comes only when we KNOW God and LIVE in His presence. We must passionately seek Him. Every day. Every hour. We must be intentional about obedience from the heart. Then, when the pain comes, we KNOW that we still have love. God is love, and HE is more powerful than any pain. In fact, HE conquered death. In Him, we know we can love in ALL circumstances!
When we are close to God, His river of love flows through us even amidst our greatest pain.
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2 Responses
God loves us more than we can understand…thank you for sharing your heart, Lacie!
My first instinct was to pass over the paragraph about the pain HE endured. Why? Because, I wanted to get to the part about how HE is going to help me.
However, I didn’t skip past it. GOD knew I needed to read about his suffering and how he still loved through all of that. I am in tears as I am leaving this comment.Not because of sadness but because this morning I prayed for HIM to help me navigate and see a way through my pain and HE just did with this devotional.