By Christin Ditchfield Lazo
A Reading from Hebrews 4:14-5:6
14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
1 Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3 and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4 And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;
6 as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest for ever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Meditation
There are few things in life as irritating as advice from people who’ve never had our problem. Like financial tips from people who’ve always had a steady paycheck and never had a hard time making ends meet. Like suggestions on how to parent your strong-willed child from people whose children are compliant and naturally inclined to obey. Or how about those helpful comments on dieting from naturally thin people — who have never had our health issues, have a different body type, or have never even been tempted to overeat?
These people just don’t get it. They don’t understand why something so simple to them can be such a struggle for us. They have never felt our pain, or battled our addiction, or faced the kind of obstacles that are constantly thrown in our path. Consequently, they’re not much help. They’re certainly not very sympathetic. But Jesus is.
The Scripture tells us that we can come to him with all of our problems, our worries and fears, our struggles with sin, our trying circumstances. He isn’t unable to sympathize. One way or another, he faced all the same kinds of tests and trials that we do. He was “tempted in every way,” just as we are — yet was without sin (Heb. 4:15-16). So we can approach the throne of grace — we can come to him in prayer with all that concerns us — confident that we will receive his great mercy, and find more than enough grace to help us in our time of need.
Yes, Jesus gets it. He gets us. He knows all about the challenges we face, and he really does understand what we’re going through. He has experienced temptation and overcome it! He’ll help us be victorious, too. He’s ready and willing to help; all we have to do is ask.
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Christin Ditchfield Lazo, M.A. (Bible and Theology), is a best-selling author, conference speaker, and syndicated radio host, passionate about calling believers to a deeper life of faith.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Consortium for Christian Unity
The Diocese of Busoga (Church of the Province of Uganda)
