He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. —Isaiah 53:3 NLT

Let’s just say it: God does not always remove hard things from our lives. Even though He could, and we’ve asked Him to. Reading the Bible teaches us that He often allowed those who served Him to endure hardships. David was anointed king many years before he actually became king. He was chased into hiding, his wife was taken from him, and he was on the run. For. Years. And that’s just one example. Joseph ended up in prison after many mishaps before he rose to power in Egypt. Moses spent decades herding sheep far from his home before he led the Israelites from captivity. Daniel achieved great things in Babylon but lost his family and nation and never returned home. And even Jesus’ disciples met with horrific deaths.

So why do we get so bent out of shape when God allows hard things in our lives? Shouldn’t we be used to them? Shouldn’t we sort of “know” that God allows hard things? Instead, we long for Eden before the fall. We yearn for Heaven. We don’t like living in this in-between place where the world is broken and “all creation groans,” waiting for the world to be made right. It’s hard to accept pain and sorrow when we serve a God who can do the impossible—and sometimes does.

Here’s what makes it easier for me: The same God who allows me to go through hard seasons is the One who distilled Himself as a man, the Son of God, and entered our broken world. He felt what we feel. He was homeless. He relied on God’s provision through various people, even for food. His “job” as an itinerant preacher brought in no regular salary. He wept while He lived among us. He groaned. He was, indeed, “acquainted with deepest grief.”

So when He promises never to leave or forsake us, He walks with us as a companion who understands. He whispers in our ears, “I know.” He weeps with us and promises that the day will come when all tears will be wiped from our eyes. So. Let’s take heart as we approach that time when we especially remember Jesus’ death and resurrection. We serve and adore not only the King who vanquished death, we serve and adore the One who feels our pain. Read these beautiful words from Isaiah and marvel at our wonderful, loving Savior all over again:

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the LORD laid on him
the sins of us all.
—Isaiah 53:4-6 NLT

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for this bittersweet season of remembering Jesus’ life and death and resurrection here on earth. It’s so much easier to bear the sorrows of this world when the Man of Sorrows walks with us. We lay our “whys” before Your throne and simply thank You for the gift of Your Presence with us now and, because of the resurrection, Your Presence always. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

You are loved,
Sharon

Sweet Selah Ministries

Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service

Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)

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