“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
I cannot tell you how many times I have been comforted by the knowledge that Jesus experienced every emotion I experience. It is an awareness that has carried me through so many times, I can barely count them all.
For months I have been grieved over the condition of the world and of my nation. Darkness is oozing across the land of my birth, like the “slime” my kids used to play with on the kitchen table, only I can’t pick it up and put it back into the container.
Almost every where I turn, there is another “bad report.” The blood of the martyrs in Islamic lands are crying out along with the blood of innocent babies in America.
Every time I look at the evil, I want to run for safety and take all my babies (yes, I still think of my adult children as babies), grand babies and everyone who I love and head to the mountains. If only Noah was here and we could run into a physical ark.
Then I sit and I pray. As I do, I am reminded that I have a High Priest who not only identifies with but sympathizes with all my weaknesses, ALL of them. I remember how He wept for Jerusalem. I ponder how He sweat blood in the garden of Gethsemane. But more than that, I am reminded the Lord knew exactly what was ahead of Him weeks before His crucifixion. Yet, He wasn’t worried. He was grieved, at times, but not overwhelmed. He knew what He came to do. He understood why He had to endure the the cross – for the judgment of the world and the defeat of the evil one. He knew He was here to glorify the Father.
Because, Y’shua could see beyond the immediate circumstances to the ultimate goal, because He had confidence that He was doing His Father's will, He could walk in peace. He could focus on doing the work of His Father during His remaining time of preparation before the crucifixion. He pulled back from the crowds and He poured Himself into His disciples.
From this perspective God is shifting my thinking from being anxious to being expectant. I am expecting Him to do amazing things, unlike anything I have ever seen or even imagined. With this great expectation, comes great joy. And so “I press press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:14
