Jesus Christ identified with mankind by becoming a man and experiencing all the trials and emotions that we experience in our lives. Jesus loved, cried, mourned, and suffered great agony for the sins of the world. It is through our trials that we can identify, in a small way, with Christ.
1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
We can never fully know how much Christ suffered for us, however it is through our suffering that we come into closer communion with our Lord. Paul called it the, “fellowship of his sufferings.” If we are wise, we will seek the Lord in a more intimate way as we navigate our trials here on earth. It is His strength that will sustain us through our times of trial.
When we think of Jesus’ sufferings we often think exclusively of the physical punishment that He endured, but Jesus also suffered emotionally throughout His lifetime.
Isaiah 53:3-4 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Many of the trials we face have an emotional component to them. The loss of a loved one, for example, brings us great grief. The Bible tells us that Jesus was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”
Our trials put us in a place of entering into Christ’s suffering. It isn’t a place we enjoy, however it can be a place of communion with the Lord. Realize today that, whatever you may be going through, that Jesus was there before you were. He will walk this path with you. You can have fellowship with Him knowing that he knows how you feel.