"You don't understand!"

Most who are or who ever have been teenagers have, regarding someone in authority, either thought or said at some point, "You don't understand!" Kids of that age are pretty sure they know everything and when they are denied what they "know" to be a good thing, it's not pretty. Usually, of course, the authority figure (parent or otherwise) really does understand better than the teen realizes, but that's not how it feels.

We have a relationship with the Ultimate Authority, Jesus Christ. Sometimes He tells us things we don't like. And sometimes, either in the midst of His commands or just in the midst of life, we can think or even say, "You don't understand!" We're commanded to do things we don't very much like or we're denied things we very much wanted or ... you get the idea. How could He understand? He's God. He doesn't suffer. He doesn't lose. He never even sinned, for pity sake. And then we read this:

We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:15-16).

On earth, Jesus experienced every form of temptation and trial that we do. Being human, He endured it all. Being God, He knows the best. He understands.

The author of Hebrews concludes that because He understands first hand, we can "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Like teenagers lashing out at our "foolish" parents, it turns out that we're wrong. He does understand and we can come to Him for the grace and mercy that we need ... even when it doesn't feel like it.