Something happened this past summer that I won’t soon forget. My son John was playing on our front porch with his two sisters. I was inside the house but only a few feet away, watching through the door window. My memory fails me as to what exactly happened, but John started crying and immediately crawled over to the door and started pounding on it. Normally, I would have opened the door as quick as I could and grabbed him and consoled him, but instead I just watched him because I knew he was really ok  (I’m sorry if this sounds cruel to you). I watched John with great intrigue as he looked through the door window, screaming, crying, and wondering where his Daddy was. Here’s the kicker – I was right there on the other side of the door and had been watching him the whole time. You see, the sun was shining on the window pane in such a way that he couldn’t see me. I was right there with him, he just didn’t know it. Now, before you get worried, I did eventually open the door, picked up my son, and consoled him with a big hug and a kiss. This whole sequence of events only took a few moments to unfold but it did teach me a powerful lesson I would like to share with you.

All to often when we are experiencing pain and trials in life, we wonder, where is God when I need Him? We wonder if God cares that we are suffering? What we don’t realize is that God is right there in the midst of our pain. Just like the experience of my son John, we might not be able to see Him (1 Peter 1:8), but we can take comfort in knowing that God is with us. If you are a Christian, that means you are a child of the King, and the Bible assures us that God takes care of His children.

Two thousand years ago, God entered into our world and became a man. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Why did Jesus do this? Hebrews 2:17-18 explains. “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

No matter what you are going through, always remember that you have a merciful and faithful high priest, who is not immune to suffering (think of the cross). God is right there in the midst of whatever you are experiencing and if you trust Him, He will see you through and you will grow in the process (James 1:2-4).