Jesus: A God Who Knows How I Feel

I hope that you are encouraged and joyful today!

There is something wonderful about having a God who knows how you feel. In the J.B. Phillips translation of the Bible, (Hebrews 4:15) says,

“For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible – He himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that He never sinned.”

Author Max Lucado, tells the story of a woman who came to a bookstore and slammed his book “God Came Near” onto the counter. She exclaimed, “My God didn’t have pimples.” She was frustrated by this specific passage in Max Lucado’s book:

“Jesus may have had pimples. He may have been tone-deaf. Perhaps a girl down the street had a crush on Him. It could have been that His knees were bony. One thing’s for sure: He was, while completely divine, completely human.”

Max writes, “I can relate to her discomfort. We quickly fix a crack in the stained glass. We rub away any smudges on the altar. There is something safe about a God that never had callouses. There is something awesome about a God who never felt pain. There is something majestic about a God that never scraped His elbow. But there is also something cold about a God who cannot relate to what you and I feel. If I had a moment with that lady I would ask her, "Jesus may not have had pimples, but don’t you hope that he could have?”

The Bible says that Jesus was well acquainted with grief. He is described as a man of sorrow, and so Jesus felt pain.

I love knowing that! Have you been stabbed in the back by a friend? If Jesus was here, he’d say, “Me too!” Have you ever been tempted or felt misunderstood? Jesus would say, “I’ve been there.” Have you ever felt alone? Jesus would say, “I’ve felt alone too.”

Jesus knows my tears. He’s seen them. He knows the source, but He also gives me comfort and answers. Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain….” (NIV) That’s Him! That’s the Jesus I know!

There is a story about a little boy who went into a pet store every day so he could look at the puppies. The store manager would watch the boy play with the puppies, and then dig into his pockets and count his change. The manager could always tell by the slump of the boys' shoulders just how far the child was from his goal.

The next time the boy went into the store, he spilled his money on the counter and ran for the cage where the puppies were. The little boy had chosen a skinny little puppy with a disfigured leg. The manager encouraged him to pick another dog: “He’s crippled, he can’t play. He’ll never run with you. He can’t even fetch.” The boy replied, “No thanks, this is exactly the dog I’ve been looking for.” The manager fell silent as he watched the boy leave. For the first time, he noticed the brace sticking out from under the boy's pant leg.

That’s Him! That’s the Jesus I know! He feels the pain and He chooses you. He’s been there. He hears your cry. He stands against hell itself for you. He hears YOUR questions. He wipes YOUR tears, and He makes a way for YOU to come home.

A miraculous encounter is always waiting when you know the Jesus I know!

You are a miracle!

Your friend,

Grant