How Jesus Loves

Some of you may have read this before. I wrote it over a year ago and it's been posted on facebook a couple times, but I read this passage this morning and it struck me again. Sometimes my life seems dead but God is still at work and I need to have confidence in that.

"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was." John 11:5-6

Honestly, I've never understood this story before. I mean, if someone I loved was facing a tragedy in their life I wouldn't wait two days to do something about it. But that is what happens here. Not "When Jesus heard, He hurried to be with them." It specifically says Jesus loved them SO He stayed where He was. Does that make sense to you? Yeah, me neither...until yesterday.

If Jesus had immediately gone to be with them He could have healed Lazarus and everything would have been fine and we would have just another story of Jesus healing someone who was sick. But Jesus loved them so He wanted to do something extraordinary in their life. He wanted their story to stand out. He waited until they were beyond hope, until they had given up completely, until they were in despair and then He shows up and says "No, your story is gonna be different. It's gonna be better. Because I love you and I want to do something amazing in your life."

Have you reached that moment? That moment when after crying out to God and pleading for Him to answer you, you finally give up and say, "Okay, I guess God's answer is no this time." Have you felt that hopelessness, that despair? I have. But God absolutely ovewhelmed me with hope yesterday, with a reminder that no matter how dead my life seems He is still at work and is doing something extraordinary BECAUSE HE LOVES ME!!! How great is that!

You know what else I love about this chapter? Verse 35...c'mon you know it. "Jesus wept." So Jesus finally shows up and everyone is mourning and what does He do? Run in all excited, "Don't worry guys, I got this"? No, He shares their pain. He knows He's going to heal Lazarus. He knows that a few minutes down the road these peoples lives will be drastically different, but He takes a moment to reach out and grieve with them and share in their hurt and loneliness BECAUSE HE LOVES THEM!!!

That's my God! He shares in my pain and my hurt and my loneliness and then turns my life upside down when I least expect it. BECAUSE HE LOVES ME!!! If that doesn't fill you with hope and joy then...well...I don't know what to tell you.