God Is with Us in Our Suffering, Sin, and Shame
Emmanuel, God with us. This is a wonder to behold. The eternal Son of God became man in the person of Jesus Christ, and broke into our darkness of suffering, sin, and shame to rescue and redeem people like you and me.
Think about it.
God is with us in our suffering.
No one in this world is free from suffering. But in Jesus Christ, God entered a dark, cursed world that felt the corroding influence of sin at every level. Though He had no sin of his own, He endured the pervasive suffering connected to ours. In humility, Jesus embraced the suffering that was divinely appointed for Him. Yet He did so with courage and grace.
There is no category of suffering that Jesus cannot relate to (Heb. 4:14-16). Jesus, the light of the world, endured undeserved pain, poverty, persistent false accusation, and punishment from others. Therefore, Jesus qualifies to be the empathetic high priest for every kind of sinner like you and me, who were born in spiritual darkness.
When you look toward Him with humble eyes of faith, He transfers you from the kingdom of darkness and meaningless suffering into the kingdom of light and redeemed purpose. In Him, your suffering takes on new purpose—to shape you into His humble image.
God is with us in our sin.
No one in this world is free from sin. But in Jesus Christ, God entered the darkness of sin. He did not become a sinner, but He was treated like one because He took on Himself the judgment that our guilt deserves. “His name shall be Jesus, for he shall take away the sins of His people” (Matthew 1:20-25).
His people.
So rich is His mercy that the Son of God identifies Himself with us—He calls us “His people.” By becoming man, the eternal Son of God became the only fully acceptable sacrifice for our sins. The Good Shepherd became the Lamb of God, who offered His sinless life to God in our place (Isaiah 53).
God the Father made him who knew no sin—Jesus Christ, the Son—to be fully treated like a sinner. Jesus accepted this voluntarily, so that we could receive the gift of His grace—the perfect righteousness we lack (2 Corinthians 5:21).
When you turn to Him—handing over the guilt of your sin—He removes it from your record and replaces it with His righteousness.
God is with us in our shame.
No one in this world is free from shame. Think about Joseph and Mary, who walked a road riddled with shame. Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus, faced the scorn and mockery of others as heads turned and whispered about her being pregnant before her wedding. Joseph, the adoptive stepfather of Jesus, assumed shame as he helped her to carry her ridicule (John 8:41).
Though she was pure and faithful in her relationship to men, Mary was a sinner in other ways. Like us, she was a child of Adam and Eve, born with a sin nature. Therefore, like us, she needed a divine rescue. Unlike us, she carried her rescuer in her womb. So, upon receiving the angel’s message, she sang: “My spirit rejoices in God, my Savior” (Luke 1:46-55). Joseph lived in obscurity, faithfully raising a boy who was not his—biologically—but who was God’s gift to him as well. His adopted son would carry his shame, too.
In Jesus, God enters your shame—the shame you bring on yourself through your own sin, and the shame that sticks to you because of your association with fellow sinners. But Jesus took that shame upon Himself and carried it to the grave. On the third day, He conquered it in victory. Now, you can be free from the weight of shame by looking to Him with eyes of faith. In Him, you will find a fountain of mercy and grace.
Look to Jesus. He knows your suffering, your sin, and your shame. Still, He welcomes you. Come to Him.
