Going Deeper With Jesus Through Soul Friendship - Deeply Loved: A Devotional to Feel Seen and Known By God

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NIV)

“Overflow with compassion and mercy for others, just as your heavenly Father overflows with mercy and compassion for all.” (Luke 6:36, TPT)

Playing football in high school taught me (Bill) to ignore injuries, push through pain, and succeed no matter what the cost.

This helped me score touchdowns and everybody admired me for it. So naturally, I adopted this attitude in other areas of my life.

I learned to deny my feelings and push to “get the ball across the goal line” in ministry. Whenever I fell short, I’d get frustrated at myself and try harder next time.

Sometimes my football mentality still returns. I slip into self-judgment as my inner attitudes sound something like: “You shouldn’t feel this way… You’re burdening people with your needs… Stay in control.” Sadly, this approach makes me feel the opposite of deeply loved.

All of us unconsciously deny God’s love at times. This happens when fear, shame, or self-reliance drown out our Lord’s presence and voice.

Agreeing with Christ’s empathy for you will help you appreciate that God deeply loves you in these moments (John 15:3-5). We provide empathy practices to help you with this in Deeply Loved.

But what do you do when Jesus’ loving, empathetic presence feels far away? You can rely on an ambassador of Christ to minister God’s friendly heart to you (2 Corinthians 5:20; Luke 6:36).

Practically speaking, this often looks like asking a trusted friend to listen to you with empathy. Then you can choose to believe that God is caring for you through your friend.

Imagine looking at Jesus looking at you through the compassionate eyes of your friend. You can feel the warmth of Christ’s presence as your friend holds space for your feelings and needs. You can appreciate their words of encouragement as the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

It’s often understood that we grow closer to Jesus through individual practices like Scripture meditation and prayer. Yet a little-known way to go deeper in friendship with Christ is through soul friendship with one another.

Appreciating the vulnerability of Jesus helps you get honest with others whenever you are ambushed by self-judgment. He models for us what it’s like to have needs and ask for empathy from others (not just his Heavenly Father).

Here are a few examples:

• Jesus received empathy from his mother as a child, who treasured him and his words in her heart. This helped him to grow in his experience of God’s favor (Luke 2:51-52).
• He wanted to spend some quiet days as a guest in Martha’s house (Luke 10:38).
• He was extremely vulnerable with his closest friends to share his overwhelming sorrow and asked them to pray with him (Matthew 26:38).

If Jesus, the Son of God, who had perfect faith, needed empathy, how much more do we need it?

As we’re transformed by the nature of God through others, we overflow Christ’s heart so those around us know they’re deeply loved by God.

Empathy Practice: You can grow empathetic relationships by first learning to pray for others with empathy. Ask for the Spirit’s help to know how to pray for your loved ones as you attune to their circumstances, needs, and emotions:

“Father, I trust you to care for __________.”

“I’m imagining they feel __________.”

“Please provide their need for __________.”