God's Heart

This devotional is Part 1 of a series focusing on John 11:1-44.

Lord, the one you love is sick said Mary, one of this sick man’s, Lazarus’, sisters who had been forgiven so much that she poured expensive perfume all over Jesus and wiped his feet with her tears. This account is written by John who called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. A few verses later Jesus’ love for this family is re-emphasized: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Seems like Jesus had a lot of favorites. The thing that troubles me about all this is that being loved by God doesn’t exempt us from sickness, death, or any other unfortunate situation. As God’s children, what are we supposed to do with that?

As Jesus’ disciples, it’s best to learn early, quickly and deeply that the Lord is gentle and humble in heart, he is full of compassion and wants our joy to be complete. These are familiar words from the Gospels that we forget or un-believe when trouble comes. God doesn’t change when our circumstances do. The Lord’s heart towards us remains the same even if our hearts don’t. Jesus literally walked with the disciples, came alongside this family and community, and stood in the middle of their brokenness and disorientation. He was not afraid of being accused or misunderstood because his purpose was clear: resurrection.

Perhaps a prayer we could pray when we’re in trouble is, “Lord give me your vision for the other side of this. Please help me to trust your heart towards me when I don’t understand and when I feel afraid.” Amen.