God, where were you?!?

How many times in life have you cried out to God in the midst of a painful experience?

Where were you when my loved one died? Where were you when my marriage dissolved? Where were you when my husband cheated on me? Where were you when my parents divorced? Where were you when my child rejected the values we worked so hard to instill in them?

I regularly hear this question from discouraged pastors. God, where were you when my elders abandoned me? Where were you when the church giving dried up and staff were let go as a result? Where were you when people in the church attacked my character?

At PastorServe, we freely admit that we don’t have answers for those questions. But, we do know this. It is not wrong to tell Jesus how we feel. We are his children and we need to remember that the Lord is our creator. But, that does not mean that we are not allowed to express both our questions and our pain to the Lord.

In John 11, shortly after the death of Lazarus, Jesus is met by Martha and then Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. Both sisters convey the same question – Lord, where were you?

In verse 21 Martha expresses the heart of every believer after facing disappointment when she says, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died. There is an accusatory tone in her voice. In essence she is saying, “Jesus, where were you? If you would only have followed the script I wrote for you…” Mary will make the exact same statement to Jesus in verse 32.

Amazingly, his response to the two sisters is startlingly dissimilar.

In response to Martha, Jesus speaks to her about the resurrection. When Martha gives a mechanical response, Jesus looks into her eyes and says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

In response to Mary, Jesus weeps.

With Martha he speaks – with Mary he is speechless. With Martha bold and direct – with Mary he is broken and trembling. With Martha, Jesus confronts her mind while with Mary; he enters into the flow of her heart. Jesus He is perfect combination of the ministry of truth and tears.

To be sure, both Martha and Mary need tears and truth. Mary would need truth later. Martha would need tears later. A good counselor knows the right timing.

As a pastor, you face situations with members of your church when they need truth – sometimes very hard truth. And, there are times when you will meet with people who need tears.

For those who hurt today, you need to them that God also weeps. Remember, God entered into our suffering. Jesus is not a stoic - distant - rigid - isolated God. Christ is a sympathetic High Priest who knows our grief. Jesus wept. Jesus has knit his heart with our heart to such a degree that he feels our pain.

Heaven is neither silent nor disinterested. Though our days are shrouded in mystery – our Savior is beautiful.