So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT
When a person is deeply in love or has a friend who is exceptionally close, they often explain the satisfaction of the relationship by saying, “He truly gets me.” Or, “She understands what I don’t even know how to say.” Or, “I have never been so thoroughly understood and accepted.” Being understood is one of the deepest human needs.
That kind of a connection with another human is amazing and wonderful, but the thought of being completely accepted, understood, loved, and valued instead of simply tolerated by a holy God is staggering and incredibly encouraging. We do not have a faraway and uninvolved God. He didn’t simply speak into our situation or even shout into it. Through Jesus’ birth and life, He fully stepped into our world. Because He became human as we are, He understands our emotions, our feelings, our weaknesses, and our struggles. He doesn’t look down on humanity. He knows intimately what it is to be one of us. He gets our grief, our suffering, our losses, our loneliness. He understands our pain, our betrayals and rejections, our emotional agony because He experienced it all. He even gets our temptations because He faced everything that we face.
Our friends and loved ones may “get us” and understand us, but most often that’s all they can do. They can empathize and feel with us, but much of the time there is nothing more they can do. They can’t fix it. But Jesus is different. He is God Himself. Fully alive, fully powerful, fully invested in our situations. We are encouraged to hold firmly to this, to what we believe about Him, no matter how dark our situation may seem.
Therefore, because we have a perfect Priest, an almighty and kind King, we are welcomed – even urged – to come boldly, with great confidence, to His throne. We come to Him in prayer as dearly loved, completely understood children. We don’t need to be perfect or afraid. We will receive overflowing mercy (undeserved compassion and forgiveness – not the retribution we deserve) and unimaginable grace (the favor, blessings, and good things I could never earn or deserve). Whew! Breath-taking! When will I get it? Can I overdraw on my account of mercy and grace? Never. Our Perfect Priest has an inexhaustible supply of mercy and grace, and we can get it FOREVER, WHENEVER we need it most! Can you believe it? What a King, Savior, Priest, and Friend we have!
- Go to Jesus today for mercy and grace. You know you need it.