Growing up in Sunday school, we would often play Bible trivia. One of the questions was “what is the shortest verse in the Bible?”. It was easy to memorize the answer which is John 11:35…Jesus wept.
Those two words hold a lot of weight. I’m so thankful for this verse and for what it says about Jesus. But the words that aren’t said hold just as much weight if not more.
When Jesus encounters Mary in her grief and pain after her brother died (John 11:32-35), what He does is identify with her and meet her where she is.
He does not…
tell her God is in control
tell her everything will be okay
tell her He’s going to work it for her good.
tell her to trust God
chastise or scold her for the emotions that He gave her
tell Mary her pain and grief is wrong
tell her the end of the story…
He simply sees her. He joins Mary in her suffering. I believe if He were on Earth today, He would weep often…
for the brokenness of this world
for the marriage that is falling apart
for the prodigal child who is walking away
for the one who is suffering alone
for the sickness and disease we face
for me as I held my sweet Paxton’s hand until it grew cold and as I walked out of the hospital without my son…
God is good, but life is still hard and horrific at times. Through his tears, Jesus shows us it’s okay to acknowledge our hurt. He shows us it’s okay to express our emotions… emotions that He gave us. If you are hurting, grieving, doubting or wrestling, He sees you. He doesn’t expect you to be okay with sickness, heartbreak or death. He will meet you where you are and gently wrap you in His embrace. And if you need someone to weep with you on Earth, please reach out to me…I’ve gotten pretty good at it.
You wept
You hurt
You saw her in her pain
in Your abundant grace You
You do the same for me
thank You
for seeing me in my grief
thank You
for sitting with me in my suffering
You capture every tear
You remind me that you’re near
even though at times
You seem so very far
You gently hold my broken heart
You care about every single scar
You don’t chastise
You don’t preach
You simply embrace me
and weep