Life’s questions

Jesus Wept―Finding Hope in the Sorrow

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Jesus Wept

Jesus wept.

John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible, but some feel it is one of the most powerful.

Why?

Lazarus had died, and Jesus spent time with Lazarus’ sisters seeing them through their grief. Jesus hadn’t hurried to Bethany or spoken a command to prevent Lazarus’ death, but at the point of His weeping, He knew He’d be raising Lazarus from the dead. So why did He weep?

There are a lot of wonderful commentaries on the subject of why Jesus wept. For insightful, doctrinal reasons, I’d refer you one of my favorite writings on the subject via Jon Bloom’s perspective from John Piper’s ministry and the Desiring God blog and website.

For me, I find great comfort in knowing that Jesus wept and grieved with Mary and Martha over his dear friend Lazarus. He showed His full humanity in connection with exercising His full deity in raising Lazarus from the dead. In showing His humanity, He grieved.

Does He grieve when I weep?

Does He grieve when a parent mourns the death of their child?

Does He grieve when villages are wiped out from disease or atrocities?

Does He grieve when a child is abused and forever changed?

Does He grieve when a husband makes the choice to abandon his marital vows?

Does He grieve when a wife is caught up in the compliments of another man?

Does He grieve when families fall apart from not seeking His path?

Does He grieve when we grieve??

Yes. He grieves for us as His children. He grieves for a fallen world.

In regards to Lazarus:  Knowing all He knew, knowing all He was capable of doing in the situation, and still knowing what He would do afterward, our amazing God and Lord wept.

In regards to us:  Knowing all He knows, knowing all He is capable of doing in our situation, and still knowing how―with our obedience, love and cooperation―He plans to work our hurts and our weeping for good, we can know He weeps with us, too. He weeps with us about what we have done, about what has been done to us, and about what has been done in this world.

Through my own trials and challenges, I know He has wept with me as He’s held me in His strength to walk me through my anguish. I know He has wept as He has comforted me in His loving arms.

Jesus wept. He weeps with you, too. Go to Him.

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Finding Hope above the Clouds

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Heaven Photo

A quick glance at this photo makes me think of Heaven.

I know the third Heaven looks nothing like this, but flying above the clouds and seeing such a distinct separation of the levels within the first Heaven just makes me think about the second Heaven (where the planets and stars dwell) and then the third Heaven (the beyond-it-all where our Lord dwells). Therefore, I think of Heaven when I see an image like this.

Someone I know recently passed away. I know her soul was caught up into the Heavenly realms.

She was a Believer, but she wasn’t the kind who just believed; she was the kind who lived life in such a way that others wanted to know from where her strength came. She didn’t hesitate to share the answer with others. She was even doing it in her final moments here on this Earth. She knew — with absolute certainty — where she was headed when she took her last breath.

Her passing was sad for so many who had been impacted by her life, but her passing was also a celebration for the many who knew her and the many more who knew of her. When one lives their life in such a way that others want to know from where strength comes, one is living out loud. She lived and loved out loud.

I want to live that way.

I feel part of being able to live that way is knowing about eternity. There is a peace and a calm knowing where eternity will be spent. I feel that peace and calm about my eternity. Do you?

You can know, for sure. You can KNOW — with absolute certainty — where you will spend your eternity.

When I fly, I love the moment in which the airplane breaks through the dismal, grey clouds to reach the sunshine that waits above them. Sometimes it’s a bumpy ride to the other side, but what is waiting is nearly always the same. I love the times when I can look down and see a fluffy, white carpet of clouds, then look across and see the place where the clouds meet the bright, blue sky. It doesn’t matter what is going on down there underneath the grey clouds, because there, above them, is a different view. It’s a peace and a calm.

I am sure some of that was what my friend experienced in her final moments. She had a bumpy ride, but she knew the peace and calm of the other side. She knew the place to which she was headed to spend her eternity.

Finding Hope in Shattered Dreams

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Shattered Dreams - Copy

Fantasies and fairy tales are not everyday occurrences. We all know this; the reality of our lives confirms this.

So, how do we find hope when our dreams have been shattered, crushed, or devastated?

I don’t know.

I’m being perfectly honest with you. I just don’t know. A lot of writers want to put out the perfect “do this,” or “rely on this” blog post or book to lead you to the cookie-cutter answers, but the reality of how one finds hope after dreams have been shattered does not come in a neat little package.

What works for one person may not work for another. What worked for me the last time it happened, may not work for me as I see it unfolding again.

Where is the hope?

One of the thought processes I’ve had to fall back upon has been reasoning that the Lord MUST have something better planned for me than what I’ve lost. Before you jump all over me for that reasoning, please let me remind you that my writings on this site are about my journey of surrendering my hopes with the expectation that doing so and doing so unto the Lord will lead me to something better.

Despite the losses, I’ve been fortunate enough to also experience blessings — ones which I might have never seen had my original dream come true. In hindsight, I’ve seen a glimmer of why His answer sometimes seems to be “No.” I just refuse to believe that the “No” He speaks ends with just His “No.” I’ve chosen to believe that His answer is really, “No, I have something better planned for you.”

James tells us that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)

Jesus, Himself, tells us to remain in Him with His words remaining in us, and when we do, whatever we wish will be done for us. (paraphrase of John 15:7)

When our dreams are shattered and it looks as though our plans and hopes — even the fully God-honoring ones — may not come true, how do we reconcile that with verses like these?

We just do. These verses and the ones that surround them and are cross-referenced from them, talk with us deeply about lining up our desires with His will. Our dreams are ours, but “thy will be done” in our lives is about letting go of our hopes in order to make room for His hopes in our life. Just as a good, earthly father wants what is best for his child, our Heavenly Father wants the same for us — His children. He doesn’t fall short, but to grant us our dreams just because we’ve dreamed them, might do just that. We might miss the something-better He has planned for us.

I think a lot of us do miss it. We miss it because of our grief, our anger, our hurt feelings, our inability to forgive, the ease of falling back upon the familiar ways, the focus upon Self and not upon others, and even the vengeance we might hope to sow. The something-better that He might wish to lay out before us might not happen, because we are too tied up and invested in the shattered dream that is now past. The choices we make today are not ones that follow the God-honoring path He had us upon. The choices we make today may just shatter more dreams if we aren’t cautious.

This isn’t what has to happen, though. We can look through the shards of shattered dreams and find pieces in there that look like blessings. These pieces might resemble something of the past, a chunk of the present, or a hope for the future. In the whole messy pile of shards, we can still find joy. Happiness might come from a dream-come-true opportunity, but joy comes from Him. He is our vine; we are His branch (John 15:5). His joy is carried through the vine and dispersed to the branches who seek to thrive and prosper on His Word, His ways, and His will.

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,     

neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,     

so are my ways higher than your ways     

and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ~Isaiah 55:8-9

How thankful are we that His ways are well beyond our ways? So, too, must His dreams be greater than our dreams! Despite the hurt and the devastation, we can rely on Him.

Finding Hope in Serving Others

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“What can I do?”

“What do I have to do?”

We’re called upon quite often to help others. Our innate asks and answers the call to help before our spoken words have the chance to leave our tongue.

Which question does your innate summon?

Which question do you speak?

Service, simply, is helping others. Service is not what we do for others, but what we give to others.

In the latter part of Romans, Paul outlines what service can look like for a Christian seeking to walk as the Lord would have them walk. Starting with Chapter 12, we see a shift in Paul’s tone from instructing us on how we should live to a tone of giving us his counsel and encouragement in applying what he has taught us. I interpret part of his exhortation to recognize that even though we are individuals, we are a part of something bigger. The choices we make are to be a contribution toward effectively living out our purpose as a member of the larger body. Life should no longer just be about us.

If service were about what we were doing for others, we would hold the upper hand or the power in the task (and maybe even some self-oriented pride in the outcome). When our mindset, our questions, our answers and our service are all about what we give to others, the upper hand and the power released is about something much greater than the one doing the service or even the one being served. It’s about the Spirit — about His ability to move within us, within others and within the world.

When we demand to be recognized or feel the need to point out what we’ve done just in case the other person missed it, is our service Godly service? When another is in need or we’re asked to provide a helping hand, is our nature to find a way to contribute or to check our schedule to find a way out of it?

When called upon to help, are our choices, words, actions, deeds AND thoughts, oriented toward God? or Self? Our innate answers before we do, and His grace gives us the power and reason summon a new answer.

Finding Patience in Fresh-picked Greens

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Freshly-picked Greens - Copy

The garden has been bursting forth with fresh, leafy lettuce! Salads are a popular meal around our table, but especially when lettuce from our organic garden can be enjoyed.

I don’t have a greenhouse, so where I live, lettuce is ready in the spring long before the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. By the time those are ready, the lettuce is often going to seed in the heat of the summer. By the time the fall lettuce is ready to eat, the tomatoes and cukes are finished.

I wish all of the garden’s delights could be ready at the same time. To solve my challenge, I could spend more time planning the planting schedule, or I could invest in a home greenhouse to have more control over harvest dates. For now, though, it’s enough for me to grow everything organically and to grow everything from organic seeds I started and tended to maturity.

I wonder if God wonders the same about me?

I am sure He beams with pride at His daughter bursting forth with seasons of good deeds and faith-based decisions she’s made after prayerful consideration for her Father’s will and ways. After all, he’s tended to her hopes and her needs as he’s pulled weeds and obstacles out of her path. He’s tenderly shown her how He’s spent time weaving her life together for His good and her good through the tear-filled lessons she’s had to endure.

He’s also lovingly waited on her stubbornness and her selfish bouts of anger and depression to teach her — yet again — that her ways are not His ways. He’s amended the lives of her family and brought about a bountiful harvest despite her hurtful attitude and words that have, at times, wilted their self-esteem.

He knows she’ll come around (he has that ability to see well into her future, you know). He knows He’ll water her life with his Living Water. He knows His Light will shine on her, illuminate her path and be a source of her growth. He knows there will be a day when He’ll be able to tell her she’s been a good and faithful servant.

But…He still has to wait until That Day when all of His pieces, all of His work and all of His pruning will fall together as He planned, allowed and intended. And…while He’s waiting, He knows He won’t be able to enjoy all of His delights in her at the same time — she’s just not capable of that kind of bounty — yet.

Oh, what He must think?  Oh, how patient is He?

The lettuce is ready, and I am thankful to be able to enjoy it. I am also thankful for His patience with me.