Daily Delight
Being a Christ follower doesn’t mean we skip life’s hard parts. It does, however, mean we’ll never have to go through them alone.Recently, God has me peeling layers of past hurts away and has encouraged me to ask Him tough questions. I didn’t realize I was trying to save God (funny, right?) from answering things like, “Where were you in this situation?,” but He reminded me He can handle these questions and more. Though He didn’t choose to spare some ugly things in my past, hindsight has shown me that He was with me through it all. When I look back at my worst moments of being hurt and alone and wonder where He was, He wrapped his arms around me, never leaving my side.This brings me to John 11, beginning with Jesus’ friends urging Him to rush to Lazarus’ side. Despite the request, He stayed away 2 more days. What may have looked like apathy turned out to be a redemptive and transformative story Mary and Martha could never have imagined.Jesus reveals another side of Himself when He reaches His grieving friends. Instead of soothing them with platitudes ‘Lazarus is in a better place’ or telling them to let it go and keep moving towards the Kingdom, He wept. (John 11:35 NIV). He knew the joy they would feel in minutes, but He also knew the real sorrow they felt in the moment. So He chose to weep with them and for them, and He does that in our lives, too. The rejections, betrayals, abuse…He sees and He weeps for us.He knows one day we will be whole and without tears, but for today, He joins in our lament. This has brought me considerable healing. I wish things had been different and that I had looked to God in the moment of pain, but He still never left my side! He knew He would one day redeem the ugly and bring about beauty, but would that knowledge get rid of the very real pain right now? No. So He held me. How beautiful that God never belittles our hurt, but sits with us, even in our grief.
About the Author
Jessica Hendrick
Jessica lives in Chesapeake, VA with her husband, Bryan, and their two young children, Jack & Jane. Never in a million years would she have thought after getting her Masters in Counseling and studying Biofeedback that she would forego job applications and become a stay-at-home mom, but God revealed the true desire of her heart that year.