I am with you always.
—Matthew 28:20
“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen,” runs the old spiritual.
There’s some truth in that: no one can get inside your head and heart and know your pain.
Maybe some of the misery was your own fault: maybe you chose the wrong road . . . or the right road for the wrong reason. And some of it wasn’t your fault at all. Either way, you have survived.
Through it all Jesus has been your compassionate companion. You may have been so immersed in worry and heartache that you didn’t sense his presence, but there was never a time when he wasn’t there. And there never will be.
“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen,” isn’t the whole truth. Somebody does know . . . the second sentence of the song goes this way, “Nobody knows but Jesus.”
He sees. He knows. He feels. He cares.