Have you wept bitterly over the loss of a loved one? Have you had grief overtake you to the point of not knowing where to turn? Do you ever feel like asking God why bad things happen? Do you know that God weeps, too?
It may sound odd to hear that God weeps. But take a look at today’s passage. Jesus wept over his dead friend, Lazarus. Jesus was sad. Jesus did not like the idea of His friend no longer being with his sisters. He did not like that He could no longer enjoy his friend’s company.
In Jesus’ case, He did something about it. He raised Lazarus from the dead. But that doesn’t minimize Jesus’ emotional distress. His distress was very real…and it still is. Jesus continues to weep over the decay of this world. He continues to be distressed over the failure of mankind to follow Him.
So, what does this mean for us? It means God understands our grief. He understands our anger. He understands our frustrations. He knows we long for something better. So, cry out in your grief. Cry out in your anger. Cry out in your frustration.
Opposed to what we may have been taught, there is nothing wrong with crying out to God. So long as we are truly seeking him, there is nothing wrong with questioning God. The problem comes in when we start blaming him for the bad that has happened. God does not create the bad, but he understands it.
Crying out to God helps us release our grief, anger, and frustrations. Weeping tears of sadness and asking God to meet us in our sorrow is exactly what God wants us to do. It is in our times of distress that God does some of his best work. So, cry out to God.
I pray we all cry out to God in our distress. I pray we earnestly ask God to provide answers without blaming him. I pray each one of us will lay our troubles at God’s feet and trust him to take care of them. Cry out to God. Ask God why. Earnestly seek answers. Trust God.
John 11:35 Jesus wept.
Marty Pressey 