The God Who Weeps With Us

KB Chakela writes that before God ever changes our situations, He weeps…

There is a side of God we often overlook, and this side often doesn’t get as much praise and glory.  We are quick to celebrate testimonies of healings, miracles and breakthroughs. We can speak endlessly about God’s provision and power, and we have become accustomed to glorifying Him for these things.  But, do we glorify Him simply because He showed up, or because He stayed and stood with us?

There are two main things that happen in John 11. We know that Jesus resurrected Lazarus after he had been dead for four days, and often when we read this passage, that’s the part that receives praise and most of our attention. 

Yes, Lazarus being resurrected from the dead is one of the greatest miracles recorded in the New Testament, and as believers we love when it’s preached.  But, something else happened that day, it was not Lazarus walking out of the tomb, nor the fact that Mary afterward set at the feet of Jesus, No, it was that Jesus Wept. John 11:35 “Jesus Wept” is often read quickly without noting the weight of what is happening.

Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, that is the main reason why He was there, and yet upon arrival, seeing the grief, the pain of the people around Him, Jesus did not preach, he did not rush to the tomb to raise Lazarus, HE WEPT.

This is the heart of God, and many times we miss it rushing to the miracle, we miss it while praying for the miracle. This very part of God is one that we have forgotten or even completely missed as the church (the body of Christ), that God doesn’t rush to deliverance or preaching sometimes. Sometimes what is more important than the breakthrough or miracle is God’s heart, that He will sit and weep with you in your times of mourning because He is close to the broken-hearted. 

We often recognise God’s presence when the breakthrough happens and praise Him, but His tears are equally as worthy of worship as His power.  The same God who raises Lazarus from the dead is also the same God that stood and wept with the people, His presence is not reserved only for our victories it is especially evident in our times of tribulations. 

Sometimes the greatest blessing is not that God quickly removed the affliction, or that your sorrow ended quickly, the greatest blessing is being able to sit and weep with the Lord during our times of affliction and tribulation.  When He said in Joshua 1:5, Deuteronomy 31:8 and many other Scripture like this, that “He will never leave us nor forsake us”, maybe God’s greatest blessing is not Him putting an end to the sorrow, but Him never allowing us to stand or carry it alone.  He comforts us, either by sending someone who simply just listens or reminds us that we are not alone.

We chase testimonies of breakthrough and spectacular displays of God’s power, and although those testimonies matter and we glorify God for them, His tears also deserve glory. In past posts I have written about the God who never forsakes us, but this time I want us to pause and reflect on John 11:35, that before God ever changed the situation, He himself wept.

I know I say this often, but my prayer for you and me, is that before we ask Him for the miracle and the breakthrough, that we pause and thank Him for His presence.

We have become so focused on Gods miracles, that we have failed to even recognise His presence.

TRENDING

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