He Knows Our Sorrows

Read: Exodus 2:23–25; 3:1–12; Matthew 9:35–38; John 17:6, using the King James Version.

There are burdens we can explain, and burdens that leave us with little more than a sigh. When suffering continues, we may begin to wonder whether God sees what is happening. Does He know how much it costs us to keep going?

The account of Israel in Egypt gives us a place to begin. Before we consider what God did to deliver them, let us notice what He revealed about His heart.

A people under a heavy burden

The Israelites were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God had made promises to these ancestors concerning their descendants and their future. Over time, their family had become a people living in Egypt. There they were forced into slavery.

Their distress was not a passing inconvenience. Their lives were under the power of others, and their labour served those who oppressed them. Exodus tells us that they groaned and cried because of this bondage.

Then the account turns our attention to God. He heard their groaning, remembered His covenant, and looked upon them. A covenant is a binding commitment. His remembering shows that His commitment to their ancestors remained active; their suffering had not placed them beyond His concern.

What Moses heard

Away from Egypt, a man named Moses was caring for sheep. He had once lived in Egypt but had fled and settled elsewhere. While tending the flock, he saw a bush burning without being consumed. As he approached, God called him by name and told him to remove his shoes because the ground was holy.

This encounter reveals both God's holiness and His compassion. The One Moses must approach with reverence is also the One who knows the suffering of enslaved people.

God tells Moses that He has seen their affliction and heard their cries. Then He says:

“for I know their sorrows” — Exodus 3:7, KJV

Pause over those words. Their pain was known to Him. He did not describe them as a nameless crowd or reduce their suffering to the work they performed. He called them His people.

Compassion means being moved by another's suffering with concern for their good. In this account, God's concern leads to action: He announces His purpose to deliver Israel and sends Moses to confront Pharaoh, Egypt's ruler. When Moses questions his own ability, God promises to be with him.

Deliverance reveals something about the Deliverer. His power serves a purpose that His compassion has made known.

Compassion made visible through Yeshua

In Matthew 9:35–38, Yeshua—Jesus—sees crowds who are weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. He is moved with compassion. The Gospel account shows Him teaching and healing, then calling His disciples to pray for workers to serve.

In John 17, He says that He has made the Father's name known. His compassion helps us recognise the heart of the God who heard Israel's cries. Through the Son, the Father's concern comes into view.

Bringing our burdens before Him

We cannot take Israel's particular deliverance as a timetable for every difficulty in our lives. Yet this account gives us reason to question the thought that suffering means we have become invisible to God.

We often hold back until we can speak calmly or explain ourselves clearly. Israel's cry came from bondage. We, too, can begin with the truth of what we are carrying.

You may be caring for someone who is ill, facing uncertainty, or carrying responsibilities that others scarcely notice. Bring that burden before the Father. Knowing His compassion gives us courage to approach Him honestly, even while we are still waiting.

His compassion also begins to shape the way we see others. A tired person may need more than advice. A distressed person may need someone who will listen. As we learn the Father's heart, we can ask Him to make us attentive to suffering and willing to offer the help within our reach.