"Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping,
and the Jews who came with her weeping,
he groaned in the spirit and was troubled."
John 11:33
The setting:
Jesus was close to a particular family, the family of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus who lived in Bethany. One day, his precious friend Lazarus died. When Jesus was told, he waited on his Father for the right time to go comfort them, and only when the Father indicated, he left for Bethany. When he arrived, he saw a great crowd of mourners there to comfort Mary and Martha in their grief. Their grief was overwhelming, and when Jesus saw it, it touched him deeply. His heart groaned, he felt their pain intensely. The Scripture says, "Jesus wept." (John 11:35)
We don't often think of God as someone who cares about our troubles. We think he's so happy in heaven that he remains aloof from what we suffer. Nothing could be further from the truth. He cares, and he cares deeply. When we are stricken with grief, he feels it right along with us.
"For we do not have a High Priest
WHO CANNOT SYMPATHIZE WITH OUR WEAKNESSES,
but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:15-16
Yes, friends, he cares. He is filled with sympathy for our sufferings. But he sees them from an eternal perspective, knowing that these very things are going to be used to mold us into mature saints with virtue that will last forever. When you discipline your child, he might think you don't care about his suffering and he might even hate you for it. He won't understand it until he has children of his own; only then will he realize the pain in your heart as you had to meet out discipline and training for his good.
God has our eternity in mind, and he allows the events of this time of our sojourn on earth to prepare us for eternity.
"...but we also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
Romans 5:3-5
Going back to our passage in Hebrews:
vs 16:
"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
In other words, accept the suffering and bring it to the one who sympathizes with our troubles, and who is standing ready to impart to us all that we need in order to overcome and succeed in all that he desires the trials to produce in us. Come boldly therefore to the Throne of Grace and obtain from his loving heart all the strength and wisdom and help that he makes available to all who approach him this way.
God loves you, far more than you know. And God IS Faithful!
MORE:
When Life Hurts
"For whoever is ashamed of me and my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation,
of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed
when he comes in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:38
Most believers would absolutely deny that they are "ashamed" of Jesus Christ. Yet their lives show that this is exactly the case.
If people were to be asked why they don't speak of their Savior and Lord, many would say that they're too shy. But what is shyness? Shyness is fear of criticism. And that's a lock on the door of the mouths of many.
Jesus didn't say that it's ok to deny him if you're shy.
"Deny him!" you object? Yes, in refusing to speak of him you are denying him. And he is ashamed of those who refuse to speak of him.
Let us take the focus off ourselves and our feelings, and consider the One who hung naked on a cross for us, bearing the judgment on our sins.
It's on the merit of this sacrifice that we are saved for all eternity. How then, would you refuse to bring to others the fact that he hung naked on a cross FOR THEM? Some have never heard this. Some have never considered this, because they may have grown up in a home or a culture that has no mention of spiritual things. Will you let them go to hell when you might have brought them the truth of the Cross of Jesus Christ as it determines their eternal salvation? Will they, in hell, cry "why didn't you tell me?"
You might think I'm trying to motivate you with a scare tactic. But what of it? It's the truth. It is a fearful thing to deny the Lord Jesus Christ, to be ashamed to speak of him. And it is a fearful thing to refrain from reaching out to someone in the hope that they might not perish. We're talking of their eternity. Their forever.
Now, it is true that the Gospel is "offensive."
"Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and ROCK OF OFFENSE,
and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
Romans 9:33
The Scriptures repeat this, and when something is repeated it indicates it's of vital importance:
“A stone of stumbling, and A ROCK OF OFFENSE.”
1st Peter 2:8
This means that many WILL be offended by the message of the Gospel and that's why many believers don't speak of it. They know it’s offensive so they don’t speak of it from fear of the person’s scorn. That does not however, justify our refusal to bring the message. The followers of Jesus Christ many times ended up beaten or imprisoned because of the message. Consider deeply what must have motivated them to accept suffering rather than refuse to bring the message of the Gospel: this life is short, and they were determined to bring to salvation as many as possible, because it meant the difference in where those who DID receive it would spend their eternity.
The value of one human soul is beyond the telling. If all of our work succeeds in winning only one soul, it will all have been worth it.
The reward for the messenger will be the same regardless of the outcome; we are not rewarded for how many we brought to salvation, because their decisions are out of our control. We are only to deliver the message.
There is nothing more fearful than to hear the Lord say he is ashamed of a person. Don't let that be you.
More:
Who Is God?
"Now King Herod heard of him (Jesus),
for his name had become well known.
And he said, 'John the Baptist is risen from the dead
and therefore these powers are at work in him.'
Others said, 'It is Elijah.' And others said,
'It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.'”
Mark 6:14-15
What is speculation? Speculation is looking at something and making guesses about it.
What is speculation worth?
Zero.
In this passage, King Herod heard about this man who had power to heal and to cast out demons. Herod had recently murdered John the Baptist, so his first thought was that John had come back from the dead and was going around doing miracles. But this great and mighty king was ...wrong.
Others were speculating that maybe this miracle-worker was Elijah. They had a valid basis for this guess, because they knew the prophecy that the miracle-working Elijah would come before the end of the age, so when they saw Jesus doing miracles, they guessed that he must be Elijah. But they were ...wrong.
Others weren't convinced it was Elijah but surely, they thought, he's one of the prophets, and that made them uncomfortable because Israel had killed all the prophets God had sent them. But they too were ...wrong.
Is speculation sinful? Not always, because it is important to pay close attention to events and try to understand them, especially as they relate to one's life or well-being, or that of his country. But speculation becomes wrong when it is treated as fact.
For example, there are believers who speculate that the Antichrist is one or another of the key players in world politics or religion on the scene today, but the problem is they don't agree with each other, so at least some of them are ...wrong.
One day recently the Lord spoke to my heart, "Speculation is not fact." It took me days to ponder the truth of that. And from that came a resolve to try not to put out there my guess on anything, because any guess could not only be wrong, but could lead others astray, and then ...it has become sin.
We must always remember that when we state something it can have an impact on others, therefore we must make it clear that when we are guessing at something, that it's just that ...a guess. It can be an "educated guess," but it's still ...a guess. In cases like that it's important to share these speculations only with people of like mind, people who know you well and who are on the same page as far as guessing goes, lest we lead others astray.
We all have friends we listen to and we know when they are speculating, and that's fine, it's fun and it can even be important. But it must remain between yourself and those of like mind and like Biblical knowledge, lest it lead someone else astray. It can prompt vigorous discussion and that can be good, but it must be mutually agreed upon and so stated when a subject ...is only speculation.