Jesus Knows How You Feel

Remember when you sought a night's rest and got a colicky baby? Remember when you sought to catch up at the office and got even further behind? Remember when you sought to use your Saturday for leisure, but ended up fixing your neighbor's sink? Take comfort, friend. It happened to Jesus too. In fact, this would be a good time to pause and digest the central message...

Jesus knows how you feel.

Ponder this and use it the next time your world goes from calm to chaos.

His pulse raced. His eyes have grown weary. His heart has grown heavy. He has had to climb out of bed with a sore throat. He has been kept awake late and has gotten up early. He knows how you feel.

You may have trouble believing that. You probably believe that Jesus knows what it means to endure heavy-duty tragedies. You are no doubt convinced that Jesus is acquainted with sorrow and has wrestled with fear. Most people accept that. But can God relate to the hassles and headaches of my life? Of your life?

For some reason this is harder to believe.

Perhaps that's why portions of this day are recorded in all the Gospel accounts (Mark 6:1-51; Luke 9:1-27; John 6:1-21). No other event, other than the Crucifixion, is told by all four Gospel writers. Not Jesus' baptism. Not his temptation. Not even his birth. But all four writers chronicle this day. It's as if Matthew, Mark, Luke and John knew that you would wonder if God understands. And they proclaim their response in four-part harmony:

Jesus knows how you feel.