Jesus Took Our Pain

Scripture: John 19:18

There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

Insights: Thousands of people have gone through the pain of crucifixion throughout the Roman period of history.  In light of that sentence I believe I need to do some clarifying.  My title today for Thoughts by Scott is Jesus took our pain.  In some ways this topic overlaps with tomorrows thoughts, but they are slightly different.  In this world we have pain and sorrow.  The Father is not blind to our plights of suffering.  In fact in the Psalms, the Lord tells us He bottles up our tears (56:8).  In eternity, however, there is pain and suffering that does not equal anything we can possibly image on this side.  It is this pain that the Lord Jesus took from us.  Whatever we go through on this side of eternity will come to an end for those of us who are in Christ Jesus.  The reason it ends is because we have received His gift of salvation.  I do not mean to belittle or make light of the suffering you may be experiencing right now.  What I am saying, however, is it will come to an end and in Christ you will receive perfect peace and rest after we enter into eternity.  So, Beloved, let us truly cast our cares on Jesus because He cares for us.  Let us run to Him in the midst of our pain and sorrow and ask Him to relieve us of this burden.  He may not eliminate it completely right this minute, but He will collect your tears and treasure them as He brings you safely home to His celestial shores.  As a result of this promise, walk in the midst of your pain with dignity and grace.  Always trusting and resting in the Lord to provide you with the strength to make each day possible.  May the Lord be praised for His taking of our pain.

Questions:

1.  With what kind of suffering are you presently undergoing?

2.  Are you aware that your true suffering and pain has been taken by Jesus?

Prayer: Father, thank You for sending Your Son and taking my pain.  I will never be able to appropriately express my appreciation for Your gracious gift of mercy and love.  Amen.