Thursday, January 15, 2009

Memory Verse

"Jesus Wept" John 11:35
The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they say Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, she goeth unto the grave to weep there.
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept. John 11:31-35

The ladies of the LPM blog are posting scripture to memorize on the 1st and 15th of each month.
I just joined them this morning and the scripture that came to my mind to memorize was Jesus Wept.
Jesus didn't just "feel their pain", he experienced their pain. We have a Lord and Savior who is not just someone who observes what we go through and has compassion on us. It is not that He relates our experience to His own since He knows the truth the beginning and the end of each circumstance. Jesus saw their weeping and in the Spirit He connected with and experienced their suffering. I believe when we hurt for our love ones and friends that it is just a small taste of what Jesus' experiences for everyone of us. When we intercede for others we sometimes experience the experience of another. How do we respond when we see beyond the immediate grief that someone is experiencing and they only see the moment? Are we tempted to speak only to a wonderful outcome? Will we let ourselves stand beside them and experience the grief of the present time? I am not talking about a pity party...but sometimes we are too focused on ushering someone out of the grief and pain...when the response that is required is to experience the grief alongside them. Then encourage and move with toward a blessed resolution.

3 comments:

From the Heart said...

A very good verse. I never thought of it in the way you described but your right sometimes we need to weep with and for friends and family when they are suffering.
Blessings,
AliceE.

Nicole said...

I agree with Alice. A good verse. Thanks for sharing your interpretation of this. Makes me think...

Love,
Nicole

Anonymous said...

Very insightful. There are times when we need to just "be there" for someone. We can cry along side them while we pray with them. We don't always get the answer we want. But, through our faith, we can experience the peace that only comes from God, and allow God to give us the strength to accept the answer He has.
Blessings, Lynn