One Saturday evening my son had a migraine. He was only fourteen, but this was not his first one, not by long shot. Genetics are against him because his dad and I both get them, and so does my mother. He’s a tough kid, though. He’d gone to band during a migraine. (Imagine sitting in the middle of the trumpet section with a blinding headache. No thanks.) He’d wrestled through one. Literally. So I had no doubts about his ability to endure. This migraine was different though. About a half hour in, his fingers began to tingle. Then his hand went numb. Then his arm and his face. He got concerned.
I’ve been there. I nodded and told him to go to bed. Then he started having trouble with words, with sentences, with forming coherent thoughts. He flipped out. His dad and I did our best to reassure him that this was all part of the migraine. We’d both been through those same symptoms. Trust us, just go lie down for a couple of hours. He did. For about ten minutes. Then he was up again. What if it’s something bad? What if it doesn’t get better? What if? What if? What if?
We did our best to reassure him. “Yes, it’s scary with these symptoms, but it’s a migraine. This is part of it. You just have to wait it out. Go to bed. It will all subside.” Two hours later, he woke up hungry.
Here’s what I learned.
I’ve been in the same situation he has, not just with migraines. I’ve been in pain. I’ve been numb. I’ve had things hit me out of the blue that left me confused and concerned. My sleep’s been stolen. I’ve cycled through countless what-ifs.
I suspect you have, too.
And in those times, every single time without fail, usually before I was ready to listen, Jesus has whispered, “I know. This is part of it. Trust Me. You just have to go through this. It will be okay.”
Jesus can give those reassurances not just because He’s God. He is the God-man. He knows what it is to hurt, to face difficult times. He endured the whispers and then the vicious slurs of being the son of an unwed mother. He experienced having His motives and His sanity questioned by those closest to Him. He poured His time and energy and love into His group of disciples only to have one of them betray Him and the rest abandon Him. He was misunderstood, frustrated, challenged, lied to, lied about. He felt the range of human emotions.
But I also believe He had His Father reassuring Him, “I know. This is part of it. Trust Me. You just have to go through this. It will be okay.”
Jesus is our perfect advocate and our perfect counselor. He knows. Trust Him. It will be okay.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15