Lord, I believe that You weep with me

In Romans 5, there is a verse on suffering; it says that because of hope in what Jesus did for us, we can rejoice in our sufferings.

However, do not fall into the trap of making light of suffering, to brush it off and say, “Its fine, everything is fine, God is good.” Not even Jesus ignored the reality of the things that hurt.

We see Him in the Gospels weep over the death of His best friend, Lazarus. When Jesus arrives at the grave, Lazarus has already been dead for days. All of his loved ones are there, crying and mourning. Jesus takes one look around and begins to weep.

Of course, only moments later, He raises Lazarus from the dead.

Yet, even in His full understanding of God’s power, knowing that Lazarus is about to live again, Jesus still mourns; He still feels the loss—for both Himself and for the others there.

He could have told everyone to not be sad, that everything was about to be okay; He could have laughed at them or ridiculed them for their lack of faith.

But He didn’t.

Instead, He wept. He carried the weight of the pain. He mourned with those who were mourning.

Maybe someone has made you feel guilty for your pain. Maybe you’ve been putting on a brave face. Maybe you’ve swept the loss under the rug because you’re living under the belief that there is no room for suffering to breathe in the presence of God, that depression and tears and sleepless night aren’t allowed.

To you I say—Jesus is weeping with you. Even though He knows the outcome. 

You can slow down. You can be honest. He wants to sit in it with you. You can show Jesus your scars, and He will show you His.