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EXPERIENCING THE SPIRIT

                                         JESUS KNOWS

To know the life of Jesus is a great encouragement to us today. For no matter what challenges we face, He understands. He too has lived in this fallen and sinful world. He has endured much suffering in His body just like the rest of us. I (Henry) will never forget walking into the brokenness of a poor Indian reservation in northern Canada. Our church had felt the call of God to bring light into a dark world, and the reservations were extremely dark and full of pain. An older lady there said, “I've watched so many of my children and family die.” And it was true; the mortality rate on the reservation was very high. Alcoholism was rampant, leading to various tragedies from traffic accidents to suicides, stabbings, and other acts of violence. But then this lady met Jesus and was gloriously saved. Her life was radically changed. Her sorrow turned to joy.

She said, “The pain has been unbearable, even to the point where I didn't know if I could go on. But now I'm full of joy, for I know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And He reminded me that He knew much pain, He endured much sorrow, and He understood what was in my heart.” We serve a God who knows our pain. He understands exactly what this world brings to our lives. Read slowly and reflectively these words spoken about our Lord by the prophet Isaiah: He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with
    grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from
    Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem
    Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our
    transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon
    Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own
    way; And the LORD has laid on Him the
    iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. (53:3-7) Yes, Jesus lived as a man who understands the harsh reality of sin and its consequences. Yet He did it with such grace. He lived with such confidence and purpose. He lived His life victoriously because of His love relationship with the Father and through the power of the Holy Spirit. And when life is caving in all around you, His presence in your life makes all the difference. He has been there; He knows what you're feeling. But there's much more than just endurance; there's hope. The Native American woman had found comfort for her pain, but she also found purpose for living. She said, “I'm so full of joy because I've met Jesus, and I know He's going to help me reach the rest of my family. I don't need to see any more deaths. Christ will give the victory!” What happened? How is it that a poor and broken grandmother, forgotten and abandoned in a faraway place, could find true joy?

How is it that the lowest on the socioeconomic scale can relate to the King of kings and Lord of lords? Simply this: she found a connection to Him who knew much sorrow, but overcame. And the Holy Spirit who filled His life was now in her life. Jesus took her hand in His and walked her through a difficult time. Jesus learned how to bring glory to God in a physical body even in the context of a fallen and sinful world. He found strength as He drew close to the Father and walked in the power of the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit allowed Him to endure, overcome, and conquer this world. And the same gift He received from the Father is now the gift He gives to all who put their trust in Him.