When we are suffering and sad, it can make us question God. Lord, do you see my sorrows? Do you care about my sorrows? Will you ever save me from my sorrows?
Exodus 3:7-10 gives us some wonderfully encouraging answers to these questions.
GOD SEES OUR SORROWS
- A suffering people: Israel were an enslaved people suffering at the hands of cruel Egyptian tyrants.
- A seeing God: And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt” (7a)
We can’t see God sometimes, but God sees us all the time.
God sees my sorrows. OK, but how does seeing help me?
GOD SYMPATHIZES WITH OUR SORROWS
- God hears their cries (7b) : God doesn’t just see and pass by on the other side. He stops to listen.
- God knows their sorrows (7c): He doesn’t just listen, he thinks about what he sees and hears. He ponders it, he cares about it, he processes it.
When people couldn’t care less, God couldn’t care more.
God sympathizes with my sorrows. That’s good to know. But can he do anything about it?
GOD SAVES FROM OUR SORROWS
- God comes down to deliver from sorrow: “I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land” (8a)
- God comes down to deliver to satisfaction: “I am come down to bring them into a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey” (8b).
This is our God. He’s a God who comes down to save from sorrow and save to satisfaction. He did it for Israel through Moses in the Old Testament. He did it for his church through Jesus in the New Testament. He can do it for you today.
Christ comes down to a suffering world, so that we can go up to a satisfying heaven.
LIVING THE BIBLE
God sees our sorrows, sympathizes with our sorrows, and saves from our sorrows. So bring your sorrows to him and replace your questions with prayer, and your doubts with praise.
This episode of Living the Bible lines up with Expedition 6: Day 2 in Exploring the Bible Together: A 52 Week Family Worship Plan and Exploring the Bible: A Bible Reading Plan for Kids. You can catch up with previous episodes of the Living the Bible podcast here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Podcast.