Sorrow. We’ve all felt it and expressed it. Sorrow is deep distress, sadness, or regret especially for the loss of someone or something loved. It is a resultant unhappy or unpleasant state. Sorrow is by caused of extreme grief and sadness. It is the display of that grief and sadness. Sorrow is a heavy weight.
It is crucial to our experience with God that Jesus experienced sorrow. He was a man of many sorrows. His father most likely died when he was younger man. His first cousin unjustly executed. One of his best friends got sick and died. His closest friends and followers betrayed and abandoned him. He experienced the shared sadness his life brought to his mother Mary. He had tensions with his siblings. He felt alone. He saw the world crushed by the weight of sin and sadness. He was hated and misunderstood. He was unjustly maligned and cruelly treated. He experienced extreme emotional turmoil and depression. He was physically tortured and killed.
Jesus – who was God come to earth as a man – experienced every form of sorrow we can experience. He knows what pain, disappointment, sadness, and grief feel like. This is a vital part of our relationship with Him. Jesus empathsizes with us. He knows our sorrows. He carried them Himself.
Sometimes especially around the holidays and special occasions our sorrows feel incredibly heavy. We see others joy and wish for their happiness. We tend to isolate and think no one truly understands our pain and sorrow. When our sorrow overwhelms us, and it will, turn to Jesus the man of many sorrows. No one understands pain, grief, disappointment, sadness, and sorrow more than our Lord. And He willingly experienced it all so He would understand our life to be able truly empathize with us.
We all have sorrows. Health problems. Grief. Financial issues. Disappointments. Future anxieties that paralyze us with fear. And we often try to carry our sorrow alone. Listen very carefully. You do not have to carry the weight of your sorrows alone. You will not experience a calloused ear from Jesus. Your pain and suffering will be heard. He will listen and comfort you.
Jesus was extremely familiar with grief and sorrow.“He was despised and rejected of men, a man of [many] sorrows, and [intimately] acquainted with grief…” Isaiah 53:3.
You won’t burden him with your sorrows. You won’t be ignored or patronized. You won’t be told to suck it up or get over it. You will be heard. And unlike so many in this world who don’t know how to handle the sorrows of others well, Jesus knows exactly what to say and how and when to say it. He knows precisely how to respond to your sorrows. It won’t be a cookie cutter response. It won’t be silence. It won’t be cliches. It won’t be inappropriate reactions. It will be genuine, empathetic, and perfect.
So remember, you are not alone. You never were. Reach out for the Lord. He will immediately grab your hand. He will not allow you to drown. (Matthew 14:31) Have faith in Him. Jesus wants to save you. He wants to comfort you and He knows exactly what you need. He wants to help carry your sorrows. It’s why Jesus came. Don’t turn away the best comforter you will ever have.
Adonai's Appeal 