So many images of Jesus depict Him as One who is suffering, as the Lord with a wounded heart. Is this not the image of the Sacred Heart? There were times when I wondered why it should be like this. Why couldn’t He just be a Lord of joy? After all, that’s what I also want – to be happy.
But then I’ve realized that it was the way Jesus chose so that He could reach me. Have you ever noticed how lonely people find it hard to open up to those who often tell them to cheer up and just be happy like them?
Lonely people find it easier to approach those to whom they can relate to, people who have also experienced heartache and pain, people who also know suffering.
I think that’s what Jesus does. To let us know that He Himself has suffered, and that is why we can trust Him to hear the deepest cries of our hearts.
“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
and saves those who have a crushed spirit.”
– Psalm 34:18, WEB-BE
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"