We are familiar with the notion that Jesus was also tempted like we were tempted; the difference is that He did not sin, while we did, as plainly stated in Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” But we might not be familiar with the idea that God suffered along with us who suffer, as poignantly expressed by Isaiah (63:9), “In all their suffering, He also suffered.” Now we know that God feels every pain we feel because He is, after all, not only with us, but He is also in us.

But there is one more factor that makes God’s pain is even greater: He loves us! We, who have seen someone we love suffer pain, know what I am talking about. So, the idea that God is impassible in the face of human suffering is not only erroneous but it’s also unbiblical. Knowing this, I hope, will change the way we view God in the face of suffering. Suffering is not something He enjoys or wants for us, His children. Suffering is something that must happen because there is no other alternative. Suffering also serves to remind us that we are not in the heavens but in the world, which is replete with suffering.

In his book, The Way of the Heart, Henri Nouwen explains that the basis of all ministries is compassion. But he acknowledges the fact that compassion is hard because, “What we desire the most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it.” To be compassionate, he says, we must be ready to “go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken.” In other words, to be compassionate we must be willing to suffer with others. This is what ministry is. Being in the church—singing, praying, preaching and teaching—is a small part of ministry. Being in the pain of others is the bulk of ministry where God wants us to be. So, let it be said of us, “In all their suffering, he also suffered.”

Pastor Paul