Sometimes pain can come on in an unexpected moment, such as when you step barefoot onto a sharp object, or when you suddenly lose a loved one. Other times, the pain is a deep ache of an old injury that resurfaces with a change in weather – or when your past emotional pain is triggered by the pressure of the tumult of new or uncertain life events.
In those times, when you are taken by surprise by your own soul and circumstances, what do you do? I am reminded of the simple truth that the love of our eternal God and savior brings me comfort to drive away my fears. God cares about your pain.
Jesus walked this earth as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He knew loss. He knew rejection.
He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
Isaiah 53:3 NLT
He lost his earthly adopted father Joseph as a young man. He knew pain. He felt the daily pressures of his calling, yet he found peace in the presence of his Heavenly Father. He found times of rest in the day – early in the morning – to be filled up with his love and power. He called his disciples away from the throngs of people who pressed in on him for healing, so they could recharge for another day of ministry. He spent time with his Father – his Abba, or daddy, as we would say in English.
And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6 NLT
Jesus felt the demands of his ministry. When the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of his garment, he felt the drain of his power leave him. What did that feel like? Did he feel a draining feeling? Did he look forward to his powerful time of unifying with his Father in prayer to refill his strength for the day? Jesus – absolutely fully God – also fully man – needed to eat and sleep to regain strength. How much more do we need to escape into the arms of the Father to be renewed?
Yet we are not fully God, like Jesus. But, we have the Spirit of Christ living in us, when we have put our faith in Jesus. He gives us all we need.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.…
1 Peter 1:2-4 Berean Study Bible
So, in the pain of life, we can rest in him completely and trust in him for a refill of his Spirit, when we are drained. We frequently think of Jesus paying the price for our sin when he died and rose again. Yet, do we remember that he carried our sorrows? He carried our trauma. He carried our grief.
One of my favorite Messianic prophecies is Isaiah 53. Today, I focus on the verses where Jesus carried our sorrows and our suffering.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
And so, our Jesus suffered more injustice than anyone who ever lived. He who knew no sin bore the weight of the sin and suffering of the world. He carried our pain and our sorrows. Why should we carry what he has already carried? We can truly cast our cares upon him, because he cares for us. He loves us. He has sacrificed for us. We can rest in his great love and know we are not alone.
If you have not trusted Jesus – you can trust him today. He joyfully waits for you. If you have trusted him, yet have found yourself in pain and trying to carry your own sorrows, remember that Jesus already carried them and the bill is paid. Cast your cares upon him, for he cares for you.
Prayer for salvation – “Lord Jesus, save me. I believe you died and rose again for my sin. I thank you for your great love for me. Deliver me from my sin, from my past, from myself. Deliver me into your great hope of eternal salvation. Fill me with your Spirit and write my name in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Prayer to cast grief and sorrow on the Lord- “Father God, I trust in you. Thank you for sending Jesus to carry my sin, my sorrows and my pain. Thank you for carrying the things I cannot carry and that no one should carry. I cast my cares upon you, for you care for me. You have redeemed me. I trust in your salvation and in the peace of your sacrifice. You love me so much that you carried my pain before I ever experienced it. Fill me with your Spirit and the knowledge of your love, so I can walk in your peace. Thank you for loving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Revealed Ministries 