He Knows
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | December 28, 2025
Click here to listen to the service
Read Hebrews 2:10 – 18 (NIV)
It hardly seems possible, but in just three days, we will be preparing to close out 2025 and launch forward into another new year... 2026. Although, if we are being honest... even as we are gearing up to celebrate this New Year... it is a year that likely holds some uncertainty for us as well.
Out of curiosity, how many of you recall what was happening as we came to the end of the year back in 1999... remember... when folks were worried about what the 21st century and the year Y2K was going to bring...
Perhaps you have heard it said that only about 5% of what people worry about actually happens... and there just may be some truth to that... especially when we think back on the cataclysmic events that never happened... the internet did not crash and burn... computers did not freeze and the world did not end... simply because the year went from ending in 99 back to ending in 00.
And yet, if we think about all the things that we have seen happen between then and now... is it any wonder that for some people, there is a sense of fear and trepidation about what this next year will bring?
Just the thought of more ICE raids, cuts to Medicaid and health insurance coverage, and not to mention the threat of wars being waged on our streets and abroad... all of it is enough to make us feel a little panicky.
But rest assured... while we may not know what the future holds, we do know the One who holds the future... and trust me... HE KNOWS.
HE KNOWS all about the challenges that we are facing.
HE KNOWS the reality of the hardships that we have had to endure.
And... HE KNOWS the temptations that confront us on a daily basis.
Which is why, without a doubt... HE KNOWS that we always have needed and always will need a Savior... to save us from our sins and to save us from ourselves.
But make no mistake... HE also KNOWS that through it all... God has been and always will be faithful to His children... and HE KNOWS that God will see us through whatever trials and temptations come our way.
So, what better time is there for us to reflect on all of this than when we are about to embark upon a brand-new year?
This is about more than simply planning to make another New Year’s resolution that we are going to try and do better in the New Year... after all most resolutions are forgotten almost before the first page of the calendar can be flipped.
This is all about intentionally shifting our focus from our problems to the Problem Solver because HE KNOWS.
HE KNOWS that all of the tests and trials we have faced in the past have actually been steppingstones and building blocks... they have not merely been roadblocks to the future.
HE KNOWS better than anyone that our suffering has not been in vain...
And trust me when I say... absolutely none of what we are going through has come as any surprise to the Lord.
In fact, our text for the morning reminds us that Jesus suffered for us and that He came to earth “fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
HE KNOWS exactly what we needed... and that is exactly why He came to earth.
It was just a few days ago that we celebrated the Christmas holiday... commemorating the birth of Jesus as that little babe who was born in a manger because there was no room for Him or his parents at the inn.
Now, scholars suggest that in the town of Bethlehem, there would not have been what we traditionally think of as an inn... certainly nothing like the Holiday Inn.
More than likely, there would have just been guest rooms in people’s homes... more like a bed and breakfast type of arrangement. That would certainly make it more understandable why there was no room for Mary and Joseph when there was such an influx of people coming to this small town for the census.
Now, for some reason, throughout this Advent season, I keep being drawn back to thinking about the traditional images we see of the Nativity scene that are usually so beautiful and colorful... however, that is probably not the most accurate depiction of the circumstances surrounding the birth of our Lord and Savior.
The fact of the matter is that Jesus was born into the midst of some messy situations.
His mother was a teenaged virgin who was already pledged to be married to Joseph when she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And once Mary explained what had happened... Joseph found himself faced with a dilemma... should he go through with the marriage and subject himself and his new wife to public disgrace and ridicule or not. I think that qualifies as a messy situation.
Then after they were married, the decree came out from Rome that all citizens should go to their hometowns to be taxed... which meant Joseph had to take Mary to Bethlehem. But once they got there, the only place that was available for Mary to deliver her baby was a stable. Talk about a messy situation…
After all, stables are where animals eat, sleep and do their business... so one would be correct in assuming they would be some really dirty and smelly places. And just think... if the townspeople were being kept busy with all the activity of the crowds who had arrived as a result of the census taking place... well, I would imagine very little time was left for actually cleaning out the stables.
And yet, that is exactly the place where Jesus was born – a messy, smelly, dirty stable.
And as messy as all of that was... there was even more that they had to deal with... because then Joseph had to take Mary and the baby and flee to Egypt to hide. All because once Herod heard about the baby being born... he launched an all-out campaign to find the baby so he could kill Him.
And when that didn’t work, he ordered every baby boy under the age of two years old to be killed (Matthew 2:13 – 16). A messy situation of the highest order... if there ever was one.
Now what is truly amazing is that it was in the midst of all that mess that Jesus came to earth to bring us the gift of salvation.
And what is so significant about Jesus being born into all of that messiness, is that we often think that we have to get our lives all cleaned up before we invite Jesus to come in... But from the very beginning… Jesus has been ready, willing, and able to come right into the middle of messiness!
Jesus wasn’t born to a married couple that was free from all controversy. He didn’t make His entrance into the world in a clean, pristine hospital. And He certainly didn’t come into a world that was free from corrupt leaders with personal agendas.
On the contrary, He came into the midst of a very messy world that HE KNOWS needed a Savior to get it all cleaned up.
HE KNOWS that we needed a role model to follow... someone to show us how to move beyond the suffering and temptation that we face each and every day.
Which is why when we look at the last verse of our text we read, “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
I have to imagine that is why the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church:
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)What we go through each and every day is nothing new to the Lord... HE KNOWS all about it.
When the world lays its temptations in front of us... whether it is drugs, alcohol, sex, food, gambling or some other form of temptation... saying “no” can often make us feel as if we are suffering.
And if by chance we do fall short and give into the temptation... our temporary moment of pleasure can quickly turn into a lasting feeling of dread and remorse because we have messed up yet again…
But there is good news for us today.
Even when we mess up... even when our lives are messier than we could have ever imagined... even at our very worst... HE KNOWS all about it... and those are actually the exact moments when Jesus does His best work.
Jesus came to the earth in the middle of some pretty messy situations as a sign to us that... not matter what... we can trust that He will be with us in the middle of our messy situations.
Keep in mind what Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman church, “…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Christ gave His life for us when we were at our absolute messiest, while we were still sinners…
Christ didn’t come because we had already gotten our lives in order... or because we had cleaned up our acts, so to speak. No, He came so that with His help... we would be able to get our lives in order and clean up our acts.
Jesus came because HE KNOWS that we need to make a fresh start.
HE KNOWS that we need to let go of our bad habit of surrendering to the temptations that come our way.
HE KNOWS that we need to steer clear of those negative thoughts about others as well as about ourselves... what some people might call stinkin’ thinkin’.
HE KNOWS that we need to stop making excuses for not doing what we know God has called us to do... trying to put off until tomorrow what God said we ought to be doing today.
And HE KNOWS that we have let go of the misconception that we are too old, too young, to short, too tall, too fat, too thin... too this or too that... for the Lord to love us and to use for His glory.
Now, let me say this... as we get ready to move into another new year... we do not have to fear what lies ahead because the Lord is already there... HE KNOWS…
And He is calling us to move forward with the confident assurance that whatever comes along, He will be right there beside us... every step of the way. After all, He has promised in His word that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
And just before we get ready to stand and sing our Hymn of Discipleship: Softly and Tenderly (#340), I want to invite us to take a moment to reflect on the lyrics of the first verse of that song:
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,It reminds me of the Parable of the Prodigal Son and the Loving Father who waited patiently for him to come back home once he had gotten all of the wild-oat-sowing out of his system. And when the son had reached rock bottom and realized it was time to let go of his wretched and wasteful way of living... he did come back home to the father who was watching and waiting with outstretched arms... ready to enfold him in love.
Calling for you and for me;
Patient and loving, He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
And that is the same way that the Lord waits for each of us... because HE KNOWS that the day will come when we will make our way back to Him... and so He waits with open arms, saying, “Come home, come home, ye who are weary come home; earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling – calling ‘O sinner, come home.’”
And if you are ready to say yes to the call to come home... I want to invite you to stand now and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: Softly and Tenderly #340.
Amen. Back
