read and reflect on Psalm 126
He knows our suffering. Have you noticed that sometimes, in the presence of someone whose suffering seems greater than our own, our suffering seems lighter, less intense? It is as if the suffering of another can temporarily take us our of ourselves. The sufferings of Jesus can, indeed, elevate us and take us out of ourselves.
The cross says that life will not be easy. If Jesus serves, we will serve. If Jesus suffers, we too will experience hardships. No servant is greater than the master. Yet things are not always the way they appear. Suffering is part of the path that leads to glory and beauty. "He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:6). Suffering has a purpose. It is changing us so that we look more and more like Jesus himself and even death is not the end of the story. When someone has suffered like you, they understand you before you speak. They can even supply words that describe your suffering. Jesus suffered; therefore, he knows our suffering.
Edward T. Welch
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