The loneliest place on earth is to be all by yourself in the midst of suffering. Just ask Job. (With friends like Job had who needs enemies, right?!) But isn’t it comforting to have someone at our side to support us when we are hurting? Oh, they don’t bring a magical cure. They don’t have all the answers to solve the setback. They don’t fix the problem; instead, they help keep us from collapsing and they even lift us up simply by being present with us and sharing in our struggle.
One of the most moving songs in the old Christian hymnal is Does Jesus Care? It’s appropriately sung at many a funeral to help the grieving folks KNOW that the Lord KNOWS what they’re going through and He is with them in their time of sorrow. It matters to us that Jesus knows all about our sadness and actually hurts with us. The first stanza of the song goes like this, “Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song? As the burdens press and the cares distress and the way grows weary and long.” The chorus goes like this, Oh, yes He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares”.
The shortest verse in the English bible speaks of the Lord Jesus hurting as He sees His friends hurting over the death of Lazarus. John 11:35 simply reads, “Jesus wept”. I’ve heard preachers try to explain away the sorrow of Jesus and insinuate He was angry! I believe Jesus was upset about what sin had done to mankind but along with that Jesus was hurting because Mary, Martha, and company were hurting. Jesus knows and Jesus cares.
Read Psalm 34:1-22(especially v. 18) and then listen to He Knows by Jeremy Camp.
Psalm 34
I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.