We’ve all had difficult times where we have felt very alone. Sometimes the people you think will be there aren’t, and the people you never expected are, but either way it can be difficult trust enough to let others into our pain. When I look back, I can see that part of feeling alone was my fault. I didn’t know if people would understand or if they would accidentally make me feel worse.
In those moments where our guts are already laying on the ground, we need empathy & sympathy…not judgment, not apathy, not cruelty, and not pity. It is those moments where our world seems to be crumbling that we desperately need someone who understands.
Sympathy is when you share the feelings of another. It is the familiarity of feelings that comes from having walked a similar road.
Empathy is when you understand the feelings of another, but do not necessarily share them. It is putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagining what they’re going through.
To have someone say that they share or understand your feelings and that they care, is a game changer. Think about how many times being alone made a difficult situation nearly unbearable. In this message we dive into Hebrews 4 where we see that Jesus sympathizes with us and we are never alone.