August 26, 2022
Friday

He Who Understands
Hebrews 4:14-16

2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.”
Psalm 139:2

The famous prayer usually associated with Francis of Assisi begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace”—thus often called the “Peace Prayer.” It is a prayer that asks for things that are counterintuitive to natural human impulses, such as, “O divine Master, let me not seek as much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand.” Consoling and understanding (instead of being consoled and understood) are not natural to us.

Most teenagers say to their parents at least once, “You just don’t understand!” And that may be true—parents are long past their own misunderstood teenage years. Yet even as adults, we wonder if anyone really understands us. Francis’ prayer seems to be modeled after the life of Christ, for surely He was one who came to serve rather than to be served, to console and understand rather than to be consoled and understood (Mark 10:45).  Indeed, the Bible tells us that Christ understands our lives since He endured every human experience we do (Hebrews 4:15).
 
When you think no one understands, turn to Jesus in prayer (Hebrews 4:16). Not only will He hear, He will understand.

A point to ponder…

Christ understands loneliness; He’s been through it.
Paul S. Rees

Read the Bible through in a year
Jeremiah 49-50
I love you!!!

© 2000-2022 B. Michael Goerlich