Jesus Knows

My daughter’s boyfriend completed his engineering degree and got a job with a company that manufactures fire trucks. One day the owner invited me on a tour of the factory.

What an impressive place! They design and build most of the parts in the factory. There was this massive truck that was nearly finished. The biggest that had ever been built in the whole world.

In addition to the gearbox that has to drive the six massive wheels, power is also needed for the enormous pump. It is a special pump, because it first has to force the water through a filtering system before it can go through the pump itself. This is a first for a fire truck.

When my daughter’s boyfriend started working there, he was one of the highest qualified employees in the company, but only on paper. The others had loads more experience. The owners made him start at the bottom. The first week he only worked on the CNC machine, cutting parts from sheets.

At first, he couldn’t understand why he had to start with this kind of work, because that wasn’t why he had worked so hard for four years at university. Only when he got to the mechanical division where they assembled the fire trucks did he realise why he had to go that route.

One day, he was struggling to fit a bolt into a small space. As he struggled, he realised there was a better place where it would be much easier to screw in the bolt. He immediately went to the design office to show them how to adjust the drawings so that it would be much easier the next time.

He learnt many lessons in practice that theoretical training would never have taught him. It’s different when you experience something yourself. Then you understand it so much better. When he gets to the top one day, he will be able to plan better, because he would have experienced what would work and what not.

I think every parent whose child is waiting in line to take over a business or a farm should make that child start from the bottom the first few years. Then he or she will one day know exactly where everything comes from and take over from the parents with much more passion and care.

In a way this is what God did with Jesus. Or rather it was so much more, because Jesus did not only come to earth to experience what we ordinary people experience, but to give his life for the people around Him.

15We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all…

Jesus knows exactly what you are going through right now. If you are in pain and hurting and feel terrible, He knows what that feels like. If you feel lost and alone, He also felt like that. Any emotion that you are feeling now, Jesus knows about it, because He knows.

Take your problems to Him. He will help. Because He knows…

Scripture

Hebrews 4:12-16

Reflection

What challenges are you facing?

Do you think Jesus knows what you are going through?

Do you take your challenges to Him?

Prayer

Jesus, it’s so good to know that You know what I’m going through. I come and lay it at your feet. Because You know… Amen.