Jesus was tempted like we are so He could help us

Hebrews 2:18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Suffering brings temptation. Did you catch what the author said? Jesus was tempted in that which He suffered, but He did not fail to love with His Father when He was tempted. In verse 16 we saw that God helped Jesus. In this verse we learn that God helped Jesus so He could help us. How could He know our misery and know what help we need when we are tempted if He hadn’t experienced it Himself? He not only had to be made like us, but He had to be tempted like we are. As we live to love with Jesus, we can expect suffering. It’s necessary so that we can experience His help to trust and love in those circumstances. What we learn from those trials and temptations equips us to love others with His love. The same love we receive in our testing is the love we share with others when they are tested. We are equipped to come to their aid through our own sufferings. Jesus embraced the suffering He had to endure, with its temptations, because He knew it was God’s plan so He could be merciful and a faithful intercessor. Is that the way you look at your suffering and temptations? God isn’t being mean to you when suffering comes your way. He isn’t angry at you. Suffering is God’s classroom or training ground for you. We will learn later that Jesus learned obedience through suffering. Are we better than He? Can we expect to identify with Jesus and love with Him without going through the same sanctification program? If we are going to be equipped to love with Jesus, we too must embrace suffering with its temptations, and look to Jesus for help. He was tempted so He could help us. He knows what we need to love in those circumstances. How are you handling your circumstances? When you are tempted, to whom do you look? Do you look to yourself—your own strength to trust and love? Will that help you lead another to look to Jesus for His promised grace and mercy? I encourage you today from this verse, that sufferings with its temptations are part of life. You can’t escape them. Trust God to order your sufferings, like He did His Son’s sufferings—for the purpose of equipping you to love those He puts in your path more mercifully and faithfully. Get ready to come to their aid, no matter what the cost, in the power of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God.