(Isaiah 53:3 NLT) He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care.

In the Army, leaders share the sufferings of their soldiers. If the soldiers are muddy and cold, their leaders are muddy and cold. If the soldiers are hungry, the leaders go without. It's just the way Army leaders lead. The platoon leader eats after his platoon is fed; the company commander eats after his company has drawn their chow. He sleeps after his soldiers are dug in and secure. He's acquainted with the lives of his men because he's shared that life with them.

We can identify with a leader who identifies with us. We trust the man who can say, "Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt to prove it." We read his ribbons and badges and know he won't ask us to do anything he hasn't done himself.

Jesus is that kind of leader. There is nothing he would ever ask us to go through that he hasn't gone through first. He's been there—in Spades! (Please note, Jesus has only experienced what God willed. He never rebelled, he never sinned, he never went contrary to his Father's will. You and I might go through things Jesus never experienced. But it only happens when we don't follow the leader!)

This is the week for remembering that our Leader's been there. We remember Jesus took our sins upon himself in the Garden and felt the burden press the blood from his pores. We remember his sufferings at the hands of evil men. And we remember he paid full price for our redemption by leading the way through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

He won't send us anywhere he hasn't been—even to our death. And we can follow him gladly even there because we know he knows the way through it to the other side of death—even eternal life.

Great week! Great Leader! Great life!

Lord, thank you for giving us a faithful Leader; make me a faithful follower. Bless my soldier brothers who are prisoners of war in Yugoslavia tonight. I'm proud of their bruises. Give them the comfort of the One who was bruised for them. Thank you Lord! Amen.

—Major Dale Forrester