“Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.  And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
Luke 22:39-44

Anguish! Jesus felt anguish. That word has always stood out to me. Anguish is defined as severe mental or physical distress. Jesus, in fact, was in so much anguish his body responded with perspiration that poured like drops of blood.

While on earth, Jesus suffered through temptations from Satan (for 40 days in a row), betrayal, misrepresentation, rejection, physical pain, grief, the pain of seeing people he loved suffering, and abandonment by his disciples when he needed them most. His pain culminated on the cross when the weight of the sins of the world were laid upon him.

Is there anything that we can go through that Jesus can’t meet us in? NO! Jesus understands our suffering, and he feels tender love and care for us in the midst of it. How does that make you feel? Take a moment right now to process and feel the truth that Jesus hurts with you, and he offers you his comfort and understanding.

In November, the night before surgery to remove a tumor that was discovered in my abdomen, I felt the closest to anguish that I had ever felt. I wasn’t sure what the next day would hold for me. I was experiencing fearful thoughts about my children. and it was breaking my heart.

In those moments, I was reminded that Jesus, in his humanity (he was fully God and fully man), knew intimately how I was feeling. In my fear and grief, I felt connected to him, and I experienced the truth that I was not alone. Jesus met me with gentleness and love in that tender place and he gave me peace to trust him. I felt that he was “with” me in my pain, and that brought me deep comfort and peace.

There is no suffering that he cannot meet us in. Because he suffered the weight of sin, he became our high priest who can relate to human pain. “He faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:15–16).

As I prayed and shared with God how scared I was, I felt his closeness to me. I felt how precious I was to Jesus through my suffering, and it led me to think more about his suffering and what that suffering accomplished for me.

Because Jesus lived a perfect life, because of the suffering that he was obedient to on the cross as he bore the wrath of God, and because of his resurrection from the dead, there is a day coming when all who trust in his work will never suffer again. Jesus is with us, he is our hope, and he secured a future for us filled with joy and love.

–Written by Tammy Medders