Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows.   2 Corinthians 1:3-5  HCSB

When we suffer we are not alone. There is no suffering that we endure that Jesus Christ Himself has not endured while He was here on earth. When we think of Jesus, we think of this man who walked the earth and showed us all how to live. We don’t always remember all the pain and suffering that he endured. You see, Jesus was despised and rejected. There were even members of His own family that did not believe that He was the Messiah. Political and church leaders despised and rejected Him. He suffered tremendous emotional strain. Remember that He was fully man and fully God so He suffered these things just as we do.

Jesus was tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1 tells us that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. Verse 2 tells us that this was after He had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. He was hungry. Charles Stanley once did a sermon about how we are most vulnerable when we are hungry, angry, lonely and/or tired. These are times when the devil loves to come in and strike. We are told in 1 Peter 5:8 to be serious and be alert because the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. We must guard against this. In Matthew 4, when Jesus was tempted, He always answered the devil with, “It is written”. He used God’s word to go against the devil. We are given God’s armor in Ephesians 6, the only defensive weapon mentioned is the sword of the Spirit or God’s word. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that no temptation has overtaken us that is not common to man. God is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability. He will always provide a way of escape with any temptation so that we are able to endure it. Trust in God when you are tempted by the devil and be strong in Him. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

He endured tremendous physical pain. Before Jesus was even nailed to the cross, He was flogged. Flogging involves using a whip with a metal ball with spikes in it. Floggings often resulted in death. As the metal ball with the spikes tore through the flesh it often left organs exposed. He was flogged before He was nailed to the cross. Have you ever stepped on a nail or hit your hand with a hammer? Think about a nail being driven through your wrists or your feet. Then the other thing to be considered is that once the cross was placed in the ground, breathing was difficult due to the position of the body. Lee Strobel who wrote the Case for Christ researched all of this and included it in his book. This difficulty in breathing meant that for as long as was physically possible, the person hanging on the cross had to lift their body slightly in order to catch a breath. So, with these nails in place, they had to have the physical strength to slightly lift their body up in order to breath. Most died from aspiration once they were too physically weak to continue to lift and lower their body.

So today, if you are suffering emotional pain, temptation or physical pain, know that Christ has been there and done that. Know that He will give you comfort (1 Corinthians 1:4) and strength (Philippians 4:13). Know that He knows what you are going through. Trust in Him to protect you (Psalm 91) in all circumstances. Focus on Him and allow Him to handle these problems for you (Matthew 6:33-34). Know that He loves you and wants what is best for you (Jeremiah 29:11). And most importantly suit up for battle and stand strong knowing that He’s got this (2 Chronicles 20)!

Have a great day!