Sorrow forces you to identify more deeply with your suffering Savior, and that is a blessing.
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SHAUNA: This is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. I love Psalm 68. Listen to Joni as she shares how Psalm 68 encourages her.
JONI: And I’m sure you’ve heard it before. Psalm 68:19 is such a comfort to me, and I bet it is for you, too because it says, “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” I not only love the truth of that statement, but I love the picture it paints. You got burdens; God wants to bear them. And he wants to do it every single day. Is that good news or what? Because no one understands, no one gets it. No one resonates with all that you bear quite like Jesus.
When I am feeling blue, when my quadriplegia gets me down [and it sure does]; when my paralysis makes me feel ‘separated’ from others, I look to Jesus—he bears those feelings. But did anyone ever bear his feelings? Did anyone ever resonate with him, feel his pain, carry his sorrow? In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was filled with sadness, and he asked his three best friends to keep watch with him. But they didn’t. At his greatest point of need, Jesus was let down by his companions. When his followers saw the soldiers come to arrest Jesus, the Bible records that “All of the disciples deserted him and fled.” Jesus was always being misunderstood; not even his innermost circle really knew him. They did not understand his mission. But here’s the deal: Jesus went without the comfort of human fellowship so that he might say to you, “Never will I leave you.” Jesus understands when you feel rejected, for he was despised and rejected by men—the “man of sorrows, familiar with suffering” like it says in Isaiah 53. Jesus knew the pain of sadness, yet it says in John 15, “I have told you all this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy might be complete.”
Jesus was utterly forsaken by God so that he, in turn, could say to you and to me, “Never will I forsake you.” Amazingly, Jesus did not sink under the burden of sadness. The load was heavy, the way was long, but he persevered. And here’s what makes the good news so great—he gives you power to do the same.
So, whenever I feel sorrowful, I look to Jesus who endured a greater grief and sorrow than I do. Yet even in that Jesus could say, “Blessed are those who mourn” in Matthew 5. Sorrow forces us to identify more deeply with our suffering Savior, and that is a blessing.
If you’re experiencing sorrow, if your tears seem to flow endlessly over a deep disappointment, if you feel utterly alone in your circumstances, remember the Savior. Remember that he persevered, and it means you can, too. Oh, and please know that we at Joni and Friends care about your struggles too. Our staff gathers every morning to intercede on behalf of friends like you who contact our ministry in need of prayer. Whether it’s an upcoming surgery; or a prodigal child gone astray; or the salvation of a family member; or a painful, chronic condition for which you just need endurance. Contact us at joniradio.org. We want to hear from you, and we want to join our Savior in heaven in interceding for your special needs. Again, just write us your prayer request at joniradio.org and please keep us posted on how you’re doing and what’s going on. Thanks for listening! Oh, and one more thing, I want to send you a copy of our Joni and Friends newsletter. So just go to joniradio.org. God bless you today and thanks for listening!
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