Overwhelmed, but Not Alone: A 5-Day Devotional for the Weary MomSýnishorn

Day 3: Christ is intimately acquainted with struggle.

For the past four years, I’ve maintained a video chat thread with three of my closest friends. Our daily check-ins mainly consist of the uneventful, workaday stories of our lives. But every now and again, our discussions take on a more somber tone. We share the struggles, the deep wounds, and the overwhelming moments of motherhood. In a small way, our back-and-forth messages sometimes serve as cries for help. Still, because our days are so different, we can sympathize with each other, but rarely can we truly empathize.

But there is One who is intimately familiar with every struggle we face. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (NIV).

Jesus understands and empathizes with every situation you and I face, even when our closest friends and family can’t or won’t. He alone knows the true cost of our brokenness, pain, and struggles. He has experienced similar stressful circumstances, repeatedly enduring horrible slander, public humiliation, and a tarnished reputation. Needy people constantly clamored for His attention and made demands of Him. He grieved significant losses and was betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends. Not only was He mocked, beaten, and condemned to an unimaginable death, but He also endured the worst suffering possible: complete and total separation from God.

Jesus knows the crushing struggles we face. His empathy bridged a gap from heaven to earth. When we consider all that He endured to spare us from the ultimate pain of eternal estrangement from God, we should be overwhelmed differently. We should be overwhelmed with gratitude. That’s not to say that our difficult circumstances will go away, but that we’ll face them with the full knowledge that we’re not facing them alone. There is One Who stands with us. His name is King Jesus!

Reflect:

1.What would you say is the difference between sympathy and empathy?

2.How does that distinction change the way you view Christ’s view of your current overwhelm?

Pray:

Jesus, thank you for your continual understanding. When I feel burdened and bent, help me to remember that You were too. Thank you for wearing the flesh of humanity so you could feel the overwhelming pressure of this skin. I am grateful for your empathy. In Your precious name, I pray, amen.

Meditate:

Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (NIV).