Ultimate Pain

READ: ISAIAH 53:3-5; 1 PETER 2:24; REVELATION 21:4 Throughout human history, a wide variety of cultures have had rites of passage where individuals had to endure something painful to be seen as an adult. Having a high pain tolerance has often brought respect. For instance, a while ago someone close to me had surgery to remove her wisdom teeth. After that type of procedure, the doctor generally prescribes high-strength painkillers. However, she chose not to take any of those. Instead she chose to manage her pain using only over-the-counter medication. This type of thing usually garners admiration from some people—or bewilderment from others. Even though many people see a high pain tolerance as desirable, everyone has their breaking point. This world is full of pain, enough to break anyone. It’s been that way ever since humanity sinned and corrupted the perfect world that God made. All throughout the Bible we see many people in all sorts of pain. But the greatest pain that we see anyone endure in the entire Bible is the pain of Jesus Himself. There were many people besides Jesus who were flogged and crucified in a similar manner, but no one else has ever borne the weight of the entire world’s sin. We can’t even begin to imagine the infinite pain He must have felt while carrying all our sins, and the infinite love that made Him do it. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice and the ultimate pain He was willing to endure, we have hope that all the pain we feel is temporary. All the sorrows of this life will one day pass away, every tear will be dried, every wound will be healed, and everything will be made whole again. • Josiah Eising • Because our world has been broken by sin, we experience pain in so many ways—not just physical, but also spiritual, mental, emotional, and relational pain. But we can take comfort knowing that Jesus can truly empathize with us because He experienced pain firsthand. What kinds of pain have you been experiencing lately? Consider taking some time to tell Jesus about this, pouring out your heart and receiving His compassionate love. • How can looking forward to Jesus’s return give us comfort and help us persevere when we are hurting? (Romans 8:18-39) He carried our pains…and we are healed by his wounds. Isaiah 53:4-5 (CSB)