Justin Barnett: When you hurt, He hurts

Over the next month or so, many will gather with family and friends to eat and to celebrate. However, for some, the holiday season will not be a time of happiness and celebration. The reality is that many people grieve during this time of year. Maybe it is a first holiday without a loved one? Perhaps it is the first Christmas after a break-up or divorce? Possibly some thought they would be married or have a baby by now? The holiday season can be a time of loneliness and heartache for many.  

If you are hurting this holiday season, I want you to know that God knows, and God cares. Psalm 34:18 is a wonderful Bible verse that tells us about God's care for us when we are hurting. It says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted... (NIV).” God is close to you, not far away. In fact, He's with you even now, and He'll be with you throughout the holidays. You can turn to Him. You can cry out to Him in your hurt and in your pain, and He will comfort you.  

This week I was reminded that Jesus taught that God is in many ways like a father. Jesus called God, “...our Father in heaven.” When you place your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you are adopted into God's family and become children of God. God loves His children. Good fathers love their children, and God is the best father one could ever have.  

I have a twelve-year-old daughter, whom I love dearly. If my daughter is crying, I want to comfort her and help her. If she is upset, I'm upset. When she hurts, I hurt. I remember just a little while back, I had a conversation with her about a problem that she had at school. She cried, and I cried. God is very similar with His children. He loves you and cares for you, and when you hurt, He hurts. 

A few weeks ago, I read a story about a little boy who was frightened by a storm one night. He was really scared of thunder and lightening. Several times he cried out in fear and his mother would come to his room to comfort him and remind him not to be afraid because God was always with him. Three times she went into his room and reminded him that God was always with him. As she prepared to leave his room for the third time her son grabbed her arm, held on tight, and said, “I know Mommy, but I want a God with skin-on!” 

We know exactly what God is like, and we know that God cares, we know that God hurts, even that God cries, because God put skin on and came to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jesus shows us God in a way that we can understand. We see in the Bible that at times, Jesus was happy. He laughed, and enjoyed time with His friends and family just like we do. At other times, He was sad. In one instance, a lot of people that Jesus loved were upset because their friend, Lazarus, had died, and Jesus cried with His friends, Mary and Martha. 

Jesus also cried a couple of times right before He was crucified. As He approached Jerusalem and thought of all the people that had rejected Him, He cried because He wanted them to know God's salvation, but they rejected Him, and it broke His heart.

Again, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before He was crucified, Jesus cried. He knew that the only way to save us from our sins was for Him to die for us on the cross in our place. He had to pay the price for our sins, so we could have forgiveness and salvation. He knew how painful and hard it would be to be crucified, to suffer like that. He knew the cost of all our sins, and He cried. 

These instances when Jesus cried show us the pain and sorrow that God feels. Jesus shows us that we have a God who knows and understands the sorrow and pain we experience. Most of all, Jesus shows us a God that cares, a God that loves us, a God that is close to the brokenhearted. 

We know that God loves us and cares for us and that He hurts when we hurt because of Jesus. God saw all that was broken in the world, all the sin, all the sadness, and He personally intervened. He came down from heaven to earth to show us how much He cares

God does not promise us that He will deliver us from all the hurts of life. He has never promised that He would keep us from pain and heartache. He does promise that in the times when we do hurt, He will comfort us as we trust in Him.

As you approach the holidays, I encourage you to focus on having a close personal relationship with God. You will find that He is truly like a loving father. Remember that God is not far away, He's with you, and He will be with you throughout this holiday season. Cry out to Him through your tears and through your pain. Place your trust in Him, and then you will find that He is indeed close to those who are brokenhearted.