He Empathizes with Us, Pt 2

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

In our first article in this two-part series, we discussed what it means to have empathy for others. We pointed to Jesus, who is the most empathic individual we could ever hope to have in our lives and we noted Hebrews 2:17-18. Rather than stand there with a finger pointed at us, He stands with both arms open inviting us to come to Him for His embrace.

17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17-18 ESV)

In verse 18 we are told that He suffered when tempted so He is fully able to help those believers who are also being tempted. This is empathy on display because He went through what we go through, yet without ever sinning.

Obviously, we do not have the benefit of seeing Jesus in Person now and embracing us physically, as those who lived among Him during His roughly thirty years on this planet. However, He still reaches out to us inviting us to reach out to Him. The fact that He took upon Himself the human nature we have is astounding and should help us understand that there is no one who can better understand the plight we live under. He is there to help us, to strengthen and empower us and to free us from the grip of temptation that comes to us in a million ways in order to cause us to sin.

We were in church this past Sunday and I watched our pastor walk up the two steps to the podium. In my mind’s eye, I saw (not a vision, but simply my imagination), Jesus sitting on those steps, me walking over to Him and sitting on the floor next to Him. He looked at me with a sincere smile and asked, “How are you, Fred?” He wouldn’t ask me that question because He wouldn’t know. He would ask with all sincerity because He cares and His empathy guides Him. He knows our faults and foibles as well as our victories in Him. He will also use my name. He knows me. He knows you, if you are in Him. He wants to help us over the temptations we face because He knows intimately what it means to face those temptations.

Jesus fully comprehends the issues we face because He faced them and yet maintained victory over each one. I don’t know about you, but I find that very difficult to wrap my brain around simply because I know how difficult it is for me to keep myself in check sometimes. Our pastor is also one who will readily admit his failures and he is always pointing to Jesus, not himself. I think the slow, continuing revelation of this is part of the outcome of being in relationship with Him.

In my last article, I spoke of being in the Word often. No one will completely master the Bible in this life though I’m amazed at the ability of some to quote large sections of it and recall specific areas of Scripture. If we are honest with ourselves, we will be forced to admit that we probably do not read/study it enough. We also may not likely apply ourselves to memorizing parts of His Word to carry it in our hearts at all times. We might not even think about it or contemplate it enough throughout each day. We become what James 1:24 says; we look in the mirror, walk away and immediately forget what we look like. It takes effort to dwell on, contemplate and remember God’s Word even after we are done reading it and walk away from it.

I also spoke previously of being in communication with Him about everything that affects us. We call this prayer because it is our heart opening up to our unseen God, who knows far more about us than we will ever know about ourselves. He has the solution for everything we face and He wants us to enjoy the benefits of knowing Him in a relationship that hopefully grows throughout our entire life as Christians without experiencing major failure.

But there is something else that is part of this equation that I did not mention last time that helps lead to this. See if you see it in the following four verses, which I’ve quoted before.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him,
He also will hear their cry and save them.
The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But the wicked He will destroy. (Psalm 145:17-20)

Do you see it? Look in the fifth line. There, we read that He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him. I understand how verses like this are twisted out of context and taken to mean something they do not mean, like God will ultimately give us whatever we want if only we believe in His power to do so. This is not what it means. Please note that our victory is dependent on one thing: fearing Him. It’s mainly victory over temptation and the decisions we face in this life.

I’ve written on the subject of fearing God and what that means before because the Bible often speaks of fearing Him. It is speaking about our growing desire to fear offending Him due to our growing love for Him. To fear Him means that it becomes our wish and desire to not do, say or think things that will offend God. This is similar to being married and refusing extra-marital affairs because you have such a strong desire to not offend (sadden, emotionally harm), your spouse, as one for instance.

So the equation is really simple here. As we grow in our relationship with God, our desires begin to transform into something new. We should come to the point of no longer going to God to see what type of material things we can get from Him for ourselves and instead, be far more concerned about aligning ourselves with His wishes for our lives. Our growing fear of offending Him becomes the motivation.

Paul, at one point, stated that he wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10-11). After all the time Paul had served our Lord, he still wanted to know Him more. Paul’s view of knowing Jesus is within the context of those verses.

…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Notice here, Paul connects knowing Jesus with suffering. This is the exact opposite of what word of faith people tend to think about the blessings of following Jesus. To word of faith folks, God is there to give us whatever we want as long as we have the necessary faith to procure it.

The truth of the matter is that to know God in greater degrees requires a change in us. That change first comes when we receive salvation. It then becomes ongoing for the duration of our lives and is based on a proper attitude toward God by us.

The verses I quoted above from Psalm 145 indicate that one of the necessary steps is to fear God. Do we ever stop to consider that God should be feared? I’m not saying that those who receive salvation should fear losing it or fear God’s wrath upon them. That’s not going to happen (though He does offer discipline if we stray because of His love for us; Hebrews 12:6).

What we Christians should be doing is cultivating a healthy fear that helps us understand that before God we are nothing. Who among us thinks that if they saw Almighty God right now would not fall down in abject terror at His glory and awesome power? We see this in too many people to recount here throughout Scripture; Moses, Daniel, Hezekiah, the apostle John and many others.

They were in relationship with God, yet when given visions of events that would happen in the future or simply seeing evidence of God’s existence, they were beside themselves with fear because of God’s raw power revealed to them. I doubt seriously that they turned things inward and began to think about things they wanted from God. It was enough to kneel or fall prostrate before Him and simply worship.

For the folks I’ve just mentioned (and many others), it is clear that God chose them. If we consider Moses, he did not want to be used by God. He was not only afraid of the Living God, but he was afraid of his own shortcomings. Yet, Moses learned to fear God and God responded by giving Moses what he needed to literally carry Israel through the wilderness toward the Promised Land.

The more Moses learned to fear God, the more Moses was given wisdom and insight and unlike Solomon, used that wisdom and insight to guide him to fulfill God’s will (except in one instance; Numbers 20). Only once did Moses fail and that cost him because at that stage in his life, Moses should not have made that mistake.

So, here is my point, taking into consideration what I wrote in the first article and leading up to this article. Knowing God takes time. It is a process of revelation that we gain from His Word that translates into experience in this realm. It is not automatic. As we grow in grace by choosing to push ourselves to learn more and more about God, submitting to His will for our lives, the more He is willing to reward us with a greater understanding, leading to a greater reality of who He is and what His Presence means in our life.

There are times when I look at my life and I’m simply not satisfied with my relationship with God. While I can look back and see growth, I often feel as though I’ve not come far enough (and I haven’t). Years ago, I was more preoccupied with trying to understand what God wanted me to do with my life. Now, at 68, I look back and think, “That was it? All that wasted time when I should have been doing things differently and focusing on getting to know God more.”

Think of where Timothy would have been if not for his grandmother and mother (2 Timothy 1:5; Lois and Eunice). Consider how much those two women influenced his life, which eventually led him to become a believer. They didn’t have huge ministries, but they had a very important one and it was likely because of their commitment to God that Timothy received the foundation that eventually brought him to Jesus. What is better than that? Yet today, too many of us are pursuing this or that physical thing instead of focusing primarily on what He wants.

The true desire of every Christian’s heart should be to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, as Paul proclaimed. Instead, we are often too preoccupied with wanting this thing or that one.

Let’s turn our focus on Him in all things. Let’s realize that there is no greater way to know Christ except through a growing, healthy fear of offending Him. Everything we do in this life should flow from that center.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Source: https://studygrowknowblog.com/2025/05/12/he-empathizes-with-us-pt-2/