The God Who Suffers
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Staying in His Love
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief . . . Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Today's devotion is taken from a recent post on Pastor Greg's blog. To see more content from his blog, click here.
When we think of God, we usually consider that fact that He is righteous, holy, loving, and good. But here is something else to consider about God: He is the God who has suffered.
We don't tend to think that a perfect Creator would experience such a human trait as human pain and suffering. After all, why would you suffer if you did not have to?
But God has suffered, and more deeply than any of us could ever imagine.
In his book The Cross of Christ, John Stott said, "Our God is a suffering God." And I think he is right.
Listen to Isaiah's description of what Jesus (who was God) went through at Calvary:
But why did God suffer? Because He loved and loves. That means He also enters into our suffering as well.
Hebrews 2:17-18 tells us:
Call out to Him.
When we think of God, we usually consider that fact that He is righteous, holy, loving, and good. But here is something else to consider about God: He is the God who has suffered.
We don't tend to think that a perfect Creator would experience such a human trait as human pain and suffering. After all, why would you suffer if you did not have to?
But God has suffered, and more deeply than any of us could ever imagine.
In his book The Cross of Christ, John Stott said, "Our God is a suffering God." And I think he is right.
Listen to Isaiah's description of what Jesus (who was God) went through at Calvary:
"He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief . . . Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:3-5)"A man of suffering." That was Jesus.
But why did God suffer? Because He loved and loves. That means He also enters into our suffering as well.
Hebrews 2:17-18 tells us:
"Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted" (NLT).You are not alone in your suffering today. Jesus has been there and walked in your shoes and He is here for you right now.
Call out to Him.
TODAY'S RADIO PROGRAM: "The Inconsolable Longing - Part 1 — II"
BIBLE READING: Leviticus 6
Copyright © 2009 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced
in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas
Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000
Wrong Ideas
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