God has been really stretching me and allowing me to grow in so many areas. I've been seeing him answer prayers in others and making me a better servant in him. Today at church my pastor did a message about Lazarus (John 11:1-45) and his death. This scripture spoke to me like it never had before:
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in the spirit and troubled." John 11:33
God doesn't enjoy seeing us in our difficult spots. I know there have been nights where i am weeping and crying out to God, "Lord why make me go through this pain! I'm hurting inside, where are you????" But i never saw him as being there and crying too because he sees me, his daughter who has faith in him but doesn't understand why she's going through this pain. I can just hear him saying, 'i know it hurts and i know you don't understand but you have to trust me, you will be better off in the end. It'll be over soon, just keep pushing through this hard time, i'm still here.'
It's like a mother who knows that their infant child is sick and needs surgery in order to get better, but the problem is the child has to be awake for the procedure. I could just imagine seeing a poor innocent child, looking up at me with fear and helplessness crying out because it hurts and they don't understand why I as it's mother, who says i love them, is allowing this pain into their life. I would probably cry with my child. holding their hand and trying to comfort them as they go through the surgery- telling them it will be over soon. Sure i could stop the doctors from doing their job but i know that she would be worse off later- and would probably have to suffer even more- than if we took care of the sickness now.
That realization brought me to tears today. Knowing that God would sit along side me and weep because I, his daughter whom he loves, is weeping too.
Jesus, no matter how much it hurt to see his followers weep the death of their good friend, had to let Lazarus die so that the people there and us today would know that Jesus can conquer even the most impossible of situations; not even death itself can stop our God from working in our lives. the little suffering of the people then was made up with a deepened relationship with Jesus and the miracle of raising a more than dead person lead to more people putting their faith in Christ.
This was well put! I will share with you that I have been there. When my little princes was 1 yrs old, I had to take her to the emergency room because her cornea had been scratched while playing with me.
ReplyDeleteThe doctors had to but antibiotics directly in her eyes. They asked me to hold her down while they numbed her eyes with some drops that were going to sting and then for the antibiotics.
While I was holding her down, she looked at me in tears. She seemed to speak to me with her watery eyes. She was letting me know that I was letting her down and that I was betraying her.
It was a hard moment for me as a father; yet, I knew that she needed to go through it in order for her eye to get better.
I was deeply touch by Pastor's Matt message myself... I have know also been deeply touch by the analogy the Lord gave you as you wrote this.