Skip Rush, Find Rest Series

Have you ever been betrayed? He has.

Have you ever been wrongly accused? He has.

Have people ever gossiped about you? Have you ever suffered physical pain? Have you ever been in physical need? Have you ever felt lonely? Have you ever suffered loss? Have you ever been afraid? Have you ever felt that you have reached the bottom and there is no way up? He understands.

The Bible tells us that: John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Jesus was fully human like you and I. He knows how mean people can be. He knows how rough life can get. He understands your struggles.

But if we left it there that would be pretty empty, wouldn’t it? To just understand isn’t enough.

2. He CARES For You

1 Peter 5:7 is a great verse to memorize, especially if you struggle with worry. It says:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

You don’t have to fret and rush and worry. You can cast all of that on him, because he cares for you. He doesn’t want you to be stressed out. He can take all of that from you. But he won’t jerk it out of your hand. You have to give it to him.

Some counselors only care as long as you can pay the bill. Not Jesus! He cares about you as a person. He cares about your character. He cares about your spiritual growth and emotional welfare. He cares about the pain you suffer. He considers you of value and of worth.

Jesus is speaking in Matthew 6:26 and says:

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

We live in a society that has this upside down. A guy gets arrested for dog fighting. He is in big trouble. It is not only federal trouble, but the state is going to try him for animal cruelty too. Now I want you to know that I am not opposed to that. I joke about not liking dogs, but I am definitely not in favor of animal cruelty. But here is what bothers me.

His name is Michael Vick and Michael Vick could have beat up his wife and he would have been okay. But cruelty to dogs has a whole host of people coming down on him.

Don’t you think that there is something wrong with that? Did you know that it is a crime to kill some animals while they are pregnant? But yet we can kill babies and call it choice. Doesn’t that bother you? It does me.

Aren’t people worth more than dogs or even endangered animals? God thinks so! He thinks you have value – He thinks that you have worth. He thinks that you are worth a lot. He thinks so much of you that He sent His son to die for you – to rescue you from your pain and suffering – to give you new hope, new life and salvation.

So if you have been the victim of abuse ... maybe it is physical abuse, maybe it is sexual abuse, maybe it is emotional abuse ... don’t for a minute think that God does not care. Don’t for a minute think that he doesn’t understand. You may not find one person that will stand up for you or take your side. I want you to know that the wonderful counselor is on your side! There may be times when he is all you have, but he is all you need.