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The Two Words That Bring God Closer To Our Hearts

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When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. John 11: 32-35

So we come back to our key verse. Jesus wept. Is Jesus deeply moved in His spirit and troubled because of the passing of Lazarus? I do not believe so. Earlier in the chapter here was the reaction of Jesus to the news that Lazarus was ill:

When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." John 11: 4

Jesus being 100% God already knew how the story of Lazarus would end. He tells us this in verse 4 by saying He will be glorified through these events! Picture this from Jesus point of view. He loves Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He knows full well that by his delay, Lazarus would indeed die. He knows that this has to happen in order for the raising of Lazarus to bring glory to the Father. Towards the end of this chapter, we find many put their faith in Jesus because of this incident. So from His Godly side, Jesus understands that the events had to unfold as they did. But His human side was greatly troubled at the pain it caused three friends of His, who the Bible tells us He loved. As He comes into town, Martha approaches Him and says if he had been there Lazarus would not have died. Jesus tries to assure her by letting her know that Lazarus will rise again! But Martha's grief is overwhelming and she confuses what Jesus is trying to say with the resurrection promised at the last day. Jesus has to remind her of all she has forgotten in her grief:

 

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11: 25-26

 

Mary then comes and collapses at the feet of Jesus, also saying Lazarus would not have died if He had been there. Jesus seeing the faith of both Martha and Mary faltering, seeing the pain and sorrow in their hearts, and the doubt of those looking on finally breaks down Himself. He weeps. He does not weep because Lazarus has passed because He knows in two minutes he will be raised from the dead! He weeps because He is a God that feels our pain. He sees our turmoil. He is at our right hand beloved and when we hurt, it does touch the heart of God. The Psalmist reminds us:

 

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56: 8 (NLT)

 

God does not waste a hurt beloved. He collects our tears and records our pain. He will use everything we go through to grow us closer to Him for His glory only. He tracks our sorrows because He cares. He is not off on a cloud somewhere glaring down at us; just waiting to throw a lightening bolt into our lives. He is not aloof and detached, preferring to deal only with the more serious matters. Everything matters to Him! He understands that if you follow His guidance for all of the little problems, you will not have to deal with larger problems later. The sad truth is it is us who become aloof too often. We excuse the little things to avoid having to hear God say "no." Then we run to Him when all hell breaks loose in our life. He will forgive. He desires repentance. But oh how much less pain would we face if we simply included Him in everything!

 

Lastly, God knows exactly how we feel. He felt it too. Feeling betrayed? Jesus was betrayed by someone closer to Him than a brother. Pain, sadness, disappointment? God sent His Son to show us the way to heaven but also to bring the Almighty God into our sphere of experience. He is always at our right hand. At the times when God feels distant we must realize that it is us who has moved.

 

Jesus wept beloved. He came to earth in mortal frame to experience what we would go through. Trials and temptations from the devil himself. Pain and suffering in a human body. Tears and sorrows for the Father to record. Because He wept He can understand anything we go through in this life. He can relate. He is not a plaster God. He is not a God made of wood or stone. He is real. He is in the flesh. He lives, He loves, He laughs, He weeps.

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Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to (more...)
 
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