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“The phrase ‘I’ve been there’ is in the chorus of Christ’s theme song.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2012-12-31) from his book, Next Door Savior: Near Enough to Touch, Strong Enough to Trust (p. 22). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I don’t know what you are going through today.  I’ve been a lot of places and been through a lot of things in my 70 years but I haven’t been everywhere, I haven’t experienced everything.  But Jesus has.

Max says, “Jesus has been there. He experienced ‘all the pain, all the testing’ (Heb. 2: 18 MSG). Jesus was angry enough to purge the temple, hungry enough to eat raw grain, distraught enough to weep in public, fun loving enough to be called a drunkard, winsome enough to attract kids, weary enough to sleep in a storm-bounced boat, poor enough to sleep on dirt and borrow a coin for a sermon illustration, radical enough to get kicked out of town, responsible enough to care for his mother, tempted enough to know the smell of Satan, and fearful enough to sweat blood.

“But why? Why would heaven’s finest Son endure earth’s toughest pain? So you would know that ‘He is able . . . to run to the cry of . . . those who are being tempted and tested and tried’ (Heb. 2: 18 AMP).  Whatever you are facing, he knows how you feel.”

He goes on, “A couple of days ago twenty thousand of us ran through the streets of San Antonio, raising money for breast cancer research. Most of us ran out of kindness, happy to log three miles and donate a few dollars to the cause. A few ran in memory of a loved one, others in honor of a cancer survivor. We ran for different reasons. But no runner was more passionate than one I spotted. A bandanna covered her bald head, and dark circles shadowed her eyes. She had cancer. While we ran out of kindness, she ran out of conviction. She knows how cancer victims feel. She’s been there.

“So has Jesus. ‘He is able . . . to run to the cry of . . . those who are being tempted and tested and tried.’”

Then Max says, “When you turn to him for help, he runs to you to help. Why? He knows how you feel. He’s been there.”


Do you need his help today?
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