Do You Think God Doesn’t Know What You’re Going Through?

23rd Sunday after Pentecost, 10/28/18
Hebrews 5:1-10


Do You Think God Doesn’t Know What You’re Going Through?
I. Then look how Jesus suffered.
II. Then be confident of your salvation.


Misery loves company. How true that is! I have yet to meet the person who is perfectly comfortable suffering and doing so without anyone else knowing or acknowledging that they are suffering. It seems to be part of our human nature that, when we’re suffering, we feel the need to let others know or at least reach out to someone else who has endured or is enduring the same thing we are. And the reason for it is that there’s some solace in knowing that someone else can understand what we’re going through. It helps the person who is suffering.

But how can anyone truly know what you might be suffering? How can they possibly know the pain, the agony, the frustration that you’re experiencing at the moment? There is no other person in the world who has gone through exactly what you’ve gone through. And no two people are alike. No one tries to process and make sense of what you are experiencing in the same way you do. You are truly unique, even in your sufferings. So how can anyone know what you’re going through?

Even God? Our God assures us in his word that he knows everything. In fact, he knows us better than we do ourselves. Therefore, he does know what we’re suffering. But as we suffer on, that truth becomes more and more difficult for us to believe. Sooner or later in our suffering continuum, we doubt that he knows what we’re going through. And when our sufferings stretch on with no end in sight, we convince ourselves that he can’t possibly know what we’re enduring.

Have you ever felt like that? Ever thought that? You’re not alone. Ever since the fall into sin God’s people have been suffering and one of the sinner’s default responses is to become convinced that our God doesn’t know what we’re facing.

How about you? Do you think God doesn’t know what you’re going through? That was the unspoken question on the mind of the writer of these words to the Hebrews. As such, it makes a good question for us to ask and then listen to his answers to suffering Christians here in Hebrews 5.

Part I.

Are you suffering through something at the current moment? I’m sure you are. It might be some nagging pain that you learned to live with long ago. Then again it might be something new and incredibly sharp and it’s consuming you. And misery loves company.

So let’s find someone to share your suffering with. How about the Jewish Christians to whom these words of our text were originally written? We don’t know exactly what sufferings they faced, but it’s apparent from this letter that they were suffering because of their Christian faith. It’s possible that they were Jewish Christians living in Rome and that the persecution of Christians in Rome had begun. You know how things ended for many Christians under the Roman Emperor Nero. It was horrific! So much so, that they were tempted to abandon the Christian faith and go back to the Jewish faith.

The writer spends chapter after chapter encouraging them not to make that spiritual mistake, and the reason he points to in this section of his letter is that Jesus suffered, too.

Consider first what the Bible states about every difficulty that comes into the Christian’s life. It’s not God’s way of punishing you. It’s not the result of God’s hatred or his anger towards you. The Bible clearly states that God allows difficulties in our lives in order to draw us closer to him. The troubles we face are his way of disciplining us for our good and refining our faith. God wants us to reach out to him in our suffering and exercise our faith—holding on to him ever more tightly.

He states in our text, “He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant or gone astray.” God has a perfect knowledge of who we are and what we need. He deals with us exactly as we need to keep us close to him—not too harshly and not too leniently.

And in his perfect knowledge and love for us, he doesn’t punish us for our sins; instead he sends us Jesus. The writer makes mention that no high priest among the Jews took that position for himself; instead, he was chosen by God. In the same way, God chose Jesus to be our great High Priest, who came to this earth to suffer the punishment that we deserve. In fact, he came to take on himself the punishment for the sins of every sinner. You talk about suffering!

But Jesus didn’t stubbornly refuse this all-important assignment from God. Listen to the writer describe Jesus’ approach. “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” No doubt the writer has in mind the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before his death. He prayed so fervently that his sweat was like drops of blood. And his prayers were heard by his heavenly Father because of his reverent submission. Recall how his prayers that night ended: “Not my will, but yours be done.” When the Father indicated that his will was for Jesus to suffer and die for the sins of the world, that’s what Jesus did.

“He learned obedience,” our text states. He didn’t learn it from a book or through someone else telling him what it was like. He learned it the best way—by experience. Bottom line, Jesus suffered hell on the cross and by that I mean he suffered something we have never suffered—separation from God. That’s what hell is. That’s what Jesus suffered—the spiritual agony of separation from his Father.

Do you think God doesn’t know what you’re going through? If so, then look at how Jesus suffered.

You hear this comment from people all the time: “It was hell.” It’s their way of putting an exclamation mark on what they suffered. Perhaps you’ve used the same comparison. But it wasn’t hell. Not even close. Only Jesus can honestly make that claim, because that’s exactly what he suffered for us. That’s what he had to suffer for us as the punishment for our sins. Imagine that! He is the only One who didn’t deserve to suffer but he willingly suffered for us. And why? Because of his divine love for us. And now, he shows his daily love for us by dealing with us exactly as we need. He knows just how much difficulty to allow into our lives to cause us to cling to him in prayer and faith. He wants to make sure that we never get so attached or enamored with this life that we lose sight of the eternal life he’s won for us. Bottom line—Jesus is intent on keeping you close to him and if that takes allowing us to suffer for a little while here, so be it. Do you think God doesn’t know what you’re going through? Not a chance! Look at Jesus!

Part II.

In an unremarkable building in Clinton Township, MI, just north of downtown Detroit, are about 160 bodies each in separate tanks, preserved at -321 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s assumed that each of these bodies represents a human being who suffered some malady when they were alive and decided that, upon their deaths, they would spend the money to be placed in a deep freeze until the cure for whatever they suffered from was discovered. At which point their bodies could be thawed out and healed. Thus they could live once again and enjoy life as they did before they began to suffer.

I’m more than a little pessimistic that will ever happen and for many reasons. And one of them is the truth before us this morning, that this life will never be what we want it to be. The root cause of suffering and death is sin, and no matter how low temperatures might be and how far our medical knowledge and skill advance, sin brings suffering and death. Period. As God declared, life will be marked by the sweat of our brows and painful toil until we return to dust.

By now, you might be thinking, “Thanks for the pick-me-up, Pastor! So glad I made the trip this morning to church to be reminded of that!”

Fair enough. But that’s not the last word. Jesus knows what suffering is and he knows perfectly what we’re suffering through at the moment. But he has a goal in mind for each one of us. In fact, he knew you by name before the creation of the world and destined you to reach that goal—to reach it in spite of whatever suffering, pain and tragedy you might endure in this life. That life is certain for you because of what Jesus did. The writer states, “And once made perfect, he became the source of salvation for all who obey him.” “Obey him?” Isn’t salvation a gift of God’s grace and not by our works? Indeed it is! The “obedience” the writer has in mind here is this command of God: to believe in Jesus as your Savior from sin, and through Jesus, to receive the gift of eternal life That’s the life Jesus won for you. He wants you to be certain of it even in the midst of the sufferings you’re enduring right now.

Do you think God doesn’t know what you’re going through? Not a chance! Indeed he does know. That’s why Jesus won a better life, a perfect life, eternal life in heaven for you. So be confident of it!

Think about what you’re going through right now in this way: Your God does know what you’re facing, and that’s not what he wants your life to be. But the life he wants for you is not here and now; it’s with him forever. He wants that life for you so much that he sacrificed his Son to win it for you. Sure the troubles of this life weigh us down, even knock us over for a time. Your God knows it. He’s with you in it every day. And he’s promised to end it and then take you to be with him. Your God not only knows what you’re going through in this life, he knows what he has in store for you in the life to come. So chin up, Christian friend, and keep your eyes fixed on your Savior, Jesus! Amen.