Every person feels alone at one time or another. We face enormous challenges that seem to tower over us and it can seem like help is nowhere to be found. Even our dedicated support system of loving family and friends can’t always strengthen us in the way we really need. There are some situations in our lives that those around us can never truly understand.
When we encounter a situation like that, hopelessness drags at us and we feel exhausted from fruitless fighting. It can seem like there will be no end and we are doomed to be overcome by this trial. However, there is Someone Who wants to fight your battle, Who understands your pain. He knows better than anyone else can exactly what you’re going through, and the best way to get you through it. God understands you, through and through.
God Understands You
When we’re in the midst of an overwhelming trial, and we feel like we’re about to drown in it any minute, turning to God may not be our first instinct. After all, He’s up in the clouds somewhere, watching from afar, isn’t He? How can He know the intricacies of our lives, or value what we value? The enemy wants us to believe that we can only rely on ourselves, that God doesn’t know what we go through on a day-to-day basis. He wants us isolated, vulnerable, and weak – easy pickings for his traps and lies.
The first step to accessing the powerful support God wants to give you is by dispelling the lie that He doesn’t know what’s happening in your life and your heart. Psalm 139:1-5 says,
Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thought from far away.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You know it all.
You have encircled me behind and in front,
And placed Your hand upon me.
God knows us even better than we know ourselves. He is intimately familiar with our every thought and inclination. He knows what you had for breakfast, the traffic you sloughed through on your morning commute, and your aversion to that one flavor of chip your spouse keeps buying despite your protests.
God Made You
Just as He knows you on an emotional, mental, and spiritual level, so also does God know you down to your very cells and atoms. Jeremiah 1:5 says,
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
And before you were born I consecrated you.
People aren’t mass-produced on an assembly line before being dropped down to earth. God takes His time to carefully mold every part of you, lovingly crafting the curve of your ears, the color of your eyes, the size of your hands and feet, and sound of your voice. Every single cell in your body has His fingerprint on it and He regards each one as precious in His sight. Luke 12:6-7 says,
Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
The average person has more than 100,000 hairs on their head, and these get shed and replaced by the dozen every single day. Yet, God counts each and every hair on your head and doesn’t even break a sweat. There is nothing about you He doesn’t understand. And even beyond understanding, He loves you with a love too powerful for us to fully comprehend.
God Knows What You Go Through
Now you may be thinking, “Ok, so God knows how many hairs I have on my head, so what? He still can’t know what daily life is like down here. He doesn’t know what I have to put up with, what I have to go through.” Now, one could argue that because God is omniscient, there is nothing He doesn’t know, but in addition to that, He underwent the unique experience of being born a man on earth through Jesus.
Jesus spent 9 months in the womb, was born of a woman, learned how to walk, talk, feed and dress Himself, and even a trade by which He could support Himself financially. He was a child, a teenager, and an adult, all before His ministry began. He knows what daily life looks like, with all the struggles it comes with.
Temptation in the Wilderness
One of the universal human experiences is the temptation to sin. Before Jesus could begin His ministry, the Holy Spirit led Him into the desert alone, and with no food, for 40 whole days. During this time, the enemy came to tempt Him, offering Him bread and worldly power in exchange for Jesus bowing down to Him. Jesus refused to relent, driving the enemy away with scripture. Read Matthew 4:1-11 for the full passage.
Jesus knows the alluring weakness of the flesh, and He did not give in. Hebrews 4:15 says,
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus is our high priest. He knows what is means to be tempted to sin and He sympathizes with us. He will never judge us for our failure, but always seek to uplift and help us.
Difficult Family Relationships
It is not mentioned often in the Bible, but Jesus had several brothers and sisters by his parents, Joseph and Mary. He experienced firsthand how family relationships can become strained. Mark 3:31-35 says,
Then His mother and His brothers came, and while standing outside they sent word to Him, calling for Him. And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, ‘Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.’ Answering them, He said, ‘Who are My mother and My brothers?’ And looking around at those who were sitting around Him, He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother.’
In the early days of Jesus’s ministry, His family did not recognize Him as the Christ, for whom the Jews had been waiting for centuries. They didn’t take Him seriously, even going so far as to interrupt His teaching and attempt to bring Him away. Mark 6:1-6a says,
Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are His sisters not here with us?’ And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not dishonored except in his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.’ And He could not do any miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He was amazed at their unbelief.
The rest of His hometown followed suit and actually prevented Him from being able to perform His usual amount of miracles because their unbelief was so strong. Jesus was forced to move on from them and continue ministering elsewhere. Now, eventually Jesus’s family understood His true nature as the Christ, but to be disrespected and rejected by them at first must have been hurtful to Him.
Sorrow in the Face of A Difficult Trial
Many have a picture of Jesus as this serene being, always smiling peacefully no matter what happened to Him. However, if He didn’t experience emotion, He wouldn’t have been truly human. Jesus knows what it’s like to go through hard things and to fervently want the hard things to stop. Luke 22:41-44 says,
And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’ [Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground].
This occurred the night before Jesus’s crucifixion. He knew the extreme amounts of suffering He would soon face and became so troubled that the blood vessels burst in His face. Even though His entire life had been leading to that day, He still asked God if there was any other way to save humanity. However, notice that He still remained completely submitted to God’s will, even in the midst of great personal suffering. He did not allow His emotions to rule Him.
God Understands and Wants to Help
All of these examples show that not only does God understand what you’re going through, He has personal experience in what living on earth involves. There is nothing in this life that God is not equipped and ready to help with. But what use is knowledge of our suffering if He is not motivated to help us?
The truth is, God does want to help us. He does want to be involved in our lives. He wants us to turn to Him with our problems, big and small, and rely on His strength instead of trying to do it on our own. Isaiah 41:10 says,
Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.
So we have a God Who, 1) Knows exactly what we’re going through, 2) Knows how to help us get through any challenge, and 3) Has the desire to intervene on our behalf so we are victorious. What an unbelievable blessing!
Remember these three things during your next trial. You have a Heavenly Father Who understands you and wants to help. Let Him work on your behalf!
Hannah Rashid
Author
Hannah Rashid is a passionate Christian writer who is blessed to be able to use the lessons she’s learned in her own life to help others get set free. In 2020, she married the love of her life, Chase, and they now enjoy their new life in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hannah always seems to be learning something new from the Lord and can’t wait to see what each new season will bring in her life.
