The Physician Who Feels

Club31Women is honored to showcase the winning pieces from the COMPEL Writers Training competition, featuring heartfelt devotionals written by emerging Christian writers. COMPEL equips women with the tools and confidence to write words that matter. These devotionals are a beautiful reflection of that mission.

“A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”
(Is. 53:3, ESV)

I winced as I watched the ER physician approach my 6-year-old son with a pair of pointy tweezers. My heart felt shattered, like the windshield of our now-totaled vehicle, and the shards of glass from the accident had imbedded deeply into my boy’s tender foot.

The young doctor worked gently and carefully as a pensive silence permeated the small room. While I knew the process was painful, my child’s eyes reflected the doctor’s tender demeanor. Soon it was over.

As the doctor began to bandage the foot, I remarked about his patience. He wiped his forehead and remarked,  “When I was 17, I was involved in an accident…went right through the windshield. I had several very painful surgeries to remove all that glass from my face.” He turned to my son, rubbed his knee, saying, “So I know how it feels, buddy.” 

I left the hospital, my head in a whirl. Several Scriptures flashed across my mind. Jesus is “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” (Is. 53:3, ESV) And, “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15, ESV)

Jesus Knows Our Pain

As the young doctor was familiar with the searing pain and anxiety of glass lodged in his body, so Jesus knows the pain we go through as we navigate this messy thing called life.

Life is not a waltz down Candy Cane Lane; in our broken world, we experience heartache, loss, and grief, and Jesus intimately knows those feelings. We may be experiencing the pain of a broken relationship, the anxiety of financial difficulties, the fear of a health diagnosis, or the loss of someone we deeply love. Regardless of the source of our pain, Jesus intimately knows and understands.

Jesus Feels our Pain

Not only does Jesus KNOW our pain, He also FEELS our pain along with us. Our God is not a God who is distant, aloof, and unfeeling; He feels the sting of our sorrow.

When Jesus stood on the hilltop looking over Jerusalem, the Bible says “He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36, ESV) He felt the weight of His peoples’ vulnerability. As they were crying behind closed doors, He felt every tear…and His heart wept along with them.

Jesus is With Us in Our Pain

One of my favorite verses In the Old Testament towers above the rest, displaying the enveloping, insulating power of God’s Presence: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and … through the fire, the flame will not burn you.” (Isaiah 43:2, CSB) The New Testament echoes this truth, “I will never leave you or abandon you.” Jesus Himself calmed his anxious disciples with the words, “Surely I am with you always.” (Matthew 18:20, NIV) Few truths provide us with such a downy pillow to lay our anxious hearts upon as the knowledge that, even in the midst of our deepest pain and sorrow, God is with us.

God knew exactly what He was doing when He sent us to that Emergency Room at the same time that particular doctor was working. The young man himself was intimately familiar with our pain, and knew just how to help. And yet, Jesus goes a step further—He is not just the doctor, but the Physician who Feels.

In His Word

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18 NIV) In those times when we are in deep grief or pain, it’s comforting to know He is close by our side.

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” (Ps 56:8, ESV) When we wake in the night, our hearts clenched with anxiety, we can pray these word to a listening Savior.

In Your Life

How does Jesus’ experience of suffering change the way you view your own pain?

When you look back on your past difficulties, can you see how God was working in ways you couldn’t understand at the time?

Is there someone in your family, perhaps your husband, or one of your children, who needs reminded that God is with them through their trials? How can you be a reflection of His love and comfort?

Let’s Connect

Lisa Woodward has been honing her writing craft through decades of laughter and tears. Now that her seven children are grown, she shares honestly about the deep joys and hard sorrows that come with walking out the Christian life, always pointing to the strength and gratitude found in Christ. She can be found at @itslisawoodward on Instagram, at LisaBWoodward.com, or in her living room drinking coffee.