The loneliest place on earth is to be all by yourself in the midst of suffering. Just ask Job. (With friends like that 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 grieving 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 had broken hearts. 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 bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord and He answered me,
And rescued me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
This wretched man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything.
The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord rescues him from them all.
He protects all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
The Lord redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.