OUR DAILY BREAD : FORSAKEN FOR OUR SAKE

[cimi]

THURSDAY APRIL 13


FORSAKEN FOR OUR SAKE

TODAY’S READING:
MATHHEW 26-36-46
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Does having a friend nearby make pain more bearable? Researchers at the University of Virginia conducted a fascinating study to answer that question. They wanted to see how the brain reacted to the prospect of pain, and whether it behaved differently if a person faced the threat of pain alone, holding a stranger’s hand, or holding the hand of a close friend.

Researchers ran the test on dozens of pairs, and found consistnet results. When a person was alone or holding a strangers’ hand while anticipating a shock, the regions of the brain that process danger lit up. But when holding the hand of a trusted person, the brain relaxed. The comfort of a friend’s presence made the pain seem more bearable.

Jesus needed comfort as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. He knew what He was about to face: betrayal, arrest, and death. He asked His closest friends to stay and pray with Him, telling them that His soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow” (MATT. 26:38), but peter, James, and John kept faling asleep.

Jesus faced the agony of the garden without the comfort of a hand to hold. But because He bore that pain, we can be confident that God will never leave or forsake us (HEB. 13:5). Jesus suffered so that we will neve have to experience separation from the love of God (ROM 8:39). His companionship makes anything we endure more bearable.

**Jesus, thank You for bearing the pain and isolation of the
Garden of Gethsemane and the cross for us. Thank You for givng us
a way to live in communion with the Father.
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Because of God’s love, we are never truly alone.

[notforgotten]

Amen.