The God Who Suffers - Greg Laurie Daily Devotion - April 5, 2017

The God Who Suffers

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief . . . Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows. —Isaiah 53:3–4

When we think of God, we usually consider the 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 grief 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, 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.

Summary sentence: Jesus was a “man of suffering.” If you are suffering, you are not alone—call out to Him!

Copyright © 2017 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.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.

Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.

SPECIAL OFFER

Rediscover Your American Liberties

America certainly has been, and still is, unique among the nations! Eric Metaxas reminds us that it’s our job, as citizens and as Christians, to maintain it. Discover your role in preserving American liberty as you learn about the moral foundations of this great country in If You Can Keep It, our gift to you for a donation to Harvest Ministries today.

You can receive a copy as a thank-you gift for donating to Harvest Ministries today.