He Knows Our Sorrows

Well Butterbean, pull up a rocker on this here front porch and be ‘a-gittin’ yourself settled in like a sleepy lil’ ol’ possum on a warm fence rail ‘cause we’re ‘bout to tiptoe right into Gethsemane where Jesus Himself done felt the kind o’ heaviness that would be ‘a-makin’ a hardworkin’ plow mule be ‘a-sittin’ down and refusin’ to budge.

In Mark 14:34, Jesus done told His disciples, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” That there’s Bible talk for, “Fellers, I am a‑hurtin’ deeper than a hound dog ‘a-howlin’ at the moon.” He done brought His closest friends, but bless their drowsy lil’ ol’ hearts, they was ‘a-snoozin’ like them there bears ‘a-hibernatin’ in winter. And Jesus was a‑standin’ there all alone,’a- carryin’ a weight no human could ever be fully understandin’.

Isaiah 53:3 had already told us He would be “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.” And in that there garden, He felt every doggone bit of it. Rejection. Loneliness. Fear. The ache of knowin’ what was ‘a-comin’. If you’ve ever done felt abandoned, misunderstood, or like God’s will was a‑twistin’ your insides into a pretzel, then Buttercup, you have kind o’ brushed up against some o’ the edges of what Jesus was ‘a-feelin’ that night.

But right here is the real beautiful two-way street. Our struggles help us to be understandin’ Him a smidge more. And that right there is why Hebrews 4:15 makes my heart settle down like a tired ol’ hound dog in a sunny patch of grass. It reminds us that we don’t have a High Priest who is unable to be empathizin’ with our weaknesses. No sir, we have One who’s done walked through every kind of testin’ we face, yet without sin. That means every ache, every fear, every lonely night, He done knows it from the inside out.

And His struggles mean He done understands us completely. He knows what it is to cry, to hurt, to plead, to wonder if there ain’t another way. He’s done walked our road, felt our feelings, and carried our burdens long before we ever did. And He’s invitin’ you to come boldly, like a calf runnin’ straight to its mama at feedin’ time.

Father, I be ‘a-thankin’ You for bein’ a Savior who done understands every ache and every tear. Help us come to You with confidence, ‘a-knowin’ You meet us with mercy, grace, and strength. Be ‘a-walkin’ with us through our own Gethsemanes and ‘a-remindin’ us that we’re never alone. In Jesus name, Amen.

Now go on out there, Junebug, and be ‘a-facin’ your day a‑knowin’ that if Jesus can be ‘a-carryin’ the weight of the world, He can surely be ‘a-handlin’ whatever is a‑tryin’ to be ‘a-nippin’ at your heels today, whether it is a worry that snaps like a cranky lil’ ol’ goose or a problem that clings real tight like a prickly burr on a hound dog’s tail.

With joy,

Gwen