Jesus wept. He loved. He grieved. He hurt. He was a man. He is God. When we struggle in this life, we can know that His love will carry us through, and if we believe, it will all make sense in the end. In His humanity, Jesus wept.
2MefromHim Devotionals
Jesus Wept
“See how much he loved him!” John 11:35
How could the day be so beautiful, so perfect when a little child just died? Much like the afternoon I heard the news of my own father’ s death, the world continued on as if nothing of consequence happened.
I walked outside, into the cool fall air and looked up at the blue sky. I had just received another “sorry-I-have-no-idea” answer from a doctor, so I was feeling pretty down. As I stood, gazing at the sky, green and yellow leaves fluttering in the gentle breeze; it was as if God whispered, “You cannot understand. Trust Me. Trust who I am.”
When things don’t make sense, what can we cling to besides the sovereignty of God? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines sovereignty as “supreme excellence, supreme power, freedom from external control, autonomy, an autonomous state.” I do not understand why a child suffered and died. I do not understand why doctor after doctor, test after test, fails to reveal the source of my pain.
Whether I understand or not, death, pain, suffering, loss, trouble, are all within the control of our loving, sovereign God. The story of the raising of Lazarus came to mind. It contains the shortest, yet perhaps one of the most revealing statements in all of scripture, “Jesus wept.”
Why did Jesus cry? Was He was angry at the results of human sin that lead to death? Was it out of sympathy for His friends? Lazarus was Jesus’ friend. His sisters, Mary and Martha had sent a message to Jesus, believing that if He came, He could heal their brother. But Jesus waited, telling His disciples the delay was so they might believe.
In God’s economy things weigh differently than they do with men. Jesus will stop at nothing to give people all the evidence they need to believe. He doesn’t force anyone believe, but He places enough information in front of them that they can make a choice.
Tradition says that Jesus’ own father, Joseph, died when he was quite young, leaving him to run the carpenter shop and support his mother and younger siblings. Jesus was God, but He was equally human. He experienced everything we do. He understands what it is like to suffer. He loved His friends; therefore, He grieved with them. He stood beside the grave of his beloved friend and wept with such deep compassion that the Jews remarked, “See how he loved him!”
Jesus was God in human flesh. Philippians 2:6-8 says, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Jesus humbled Himself to the point of being a man in every way.
Today, Jesus sits at the right hand of His Father in heaven. He knows all our pain and struggles because of our helper, the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26-27 says, “But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” (NLT)
Bad things happen, but they have a purpose beyond our capability to understand. Romans 8:28 says, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God…” (NASB). This does not mean all things in the life of a believer are or will be good, but “all things work together for good”. When we reach heaven, we will be able to see that even the things that made no sense worked together for a good purpose. They grow us and for draw us closer to God in understanding and need.
As we are told in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
I don’t understand how Jesus was man and God at the same time. I don’t understand how bad things can work for good. However, I know that God is real and that He is sovereign. And some day, I will understand and rejoice, praising His goodness and grace for the things that made me cry and become angry in this life. I will see how much He loves me. That is faith.
The world may carry on when bad things happen, but in heaven, the Holy Spirit prays with groans too deep for words, carrying our needs to God, who listens and responds. Whatever your struggle, Jesus is God. He was a man, He understands. He loves.
© Copyright by Norma Gail Thurston Holtman, October 6, 2016
About the author:
Norma Gail is the author of the contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, winner of the 2016 Bookvana Religious Fiction Award. A women’s Bible study leader for over 21 years, her devotionals and poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. Norma is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 40 years. They have two adult children.
Connect with Norma:
Website: www.normagail.org
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Norma-Gail/e/B00ILHXBAK/
Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQbZIoC_JSE
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorNormaGail
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+NormaGailwrites
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/normagailth/boards/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7874459
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Norma_Gail
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/norma-gail-thurston-holtman/42/71a/3b2
Book Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Land-My-Dreams-Norma-Gail/dp/1941103170
Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas Bookstore: http:// lpcbooks.com/product/land-of-my-dreams/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/land-of-my-dreams-norma-gail/1119606864?ean=9781941103173
Did you enjoy this?
If so, please help spread the happiness! Share this post with your friends!