He Knows Pain More Than You

I've been reading the book Gentle and Lowly by Dane C. Ortlund recently, and came across such a wonderful thought. If you're going through something right now, and you feel that God couldn't possibly empathize with you because He is... well, God, then you're mistaken. Jesus Christ was the only human to walk the earth being exposed to all the temptations there are, and yet did not sin. I never really understood the implications of that until Ortlund examined it further.

The Brief Struggle in Sin

Let's say for example you need to eat healthier because your recent medical results came out pretty bad. You're gonna have to make better decisions now. But then you suddenly see your great weakness—a bag of potato chips. Now you're faced with a choice: do I do the right thing and grab for the bowl of fruits, or do I give into the temptation? It only takes you a minute of struggling, until you finally give in and munch on those salty bad boys. You fail. You're human, and you failed.

But take a look again: which part was painful? Was it resisting the temptation, or giving into it? Isn’t it more painful to resist the temptation? It takes way more energy for us to do that. But every time we give into temptation, it's our way of relieving the pain, at least temporarily.

Jesus’ Lifetime of Suffering

Now consider Christ: He never gave into any temptation. Then doesn't that mean that He endured way more than we ever could? Because He never sinned, then He knows more about the pain and the suffering than we do. That makes Him the most understanding Person in the universe. That's the God who loves you so dearly and tenderly this very moment.