What a Friend We Have in Jesus

I don’t know where this Easter finds you. Maybe you have been pressing into God’s Word and can see the fruit from your discipline. Maybe you reluctantly went to church today and didn’t have the strength to sing along. Maybe you so badly want to believe Jesus can make you new, but you feel so much shame you can’t look people in the eyes.

Whatever your hesitation is— if you’ve been hurt by church in the past, if you feel like you keep disappointing God and letting him down, if you feel like you’re too depressed to ever have real joy… there’s too much hope in front of you to let today just pass you by. Jesus loves you right now exactly where you’re at. Even if you’ve doubted, even if you’ve denied him and have walked away— he has enough grace to meet you here. You’re never too far gone, you cannot disqualify yourself from the love of God.

This week what jumped out at me in the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection is how close Jesus really is to us. In Matthew 26 Jesus said “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” Wow. This made me cry, because Jesus is in the garden with his face on the ground, pleading with his Father to take away the path in front of him. He was about to face the peak of his purpose, and he was experiencing the most sorrow. He was all alone. His friends weren’t there for him because they were asleep. He knew what God was calling him to and he knew it was necessary, yet his humanity was deeply grieving.

If you feel alone and like nobody could possibly understand your pain, your suffering is not unfamiliar to the Son of Man. Your tears are not foreign to the Man of Sorrows. Jesus was betrayed by a friend, abandoned by his closest circle, mocked by those who once spoke well of him. Nobody has been lonelier than the Messiah— he willingly walked into excruciating pain because he loves you. Because he wants you to be in relationship with God. He wants you to know his resurrection power that brings new life with just the mention of his name.

What a friend we have in Jesus. He’s the friend who sticks closer than a brother. Don’t let today pass you by without letting him in. Let Jesus be your friend, your comforter. Let him by your life.