02/12/2019
It has often been said, and it is true, that we come closest to God when we are in the midst of our suffering... so, how is your life at this moment? Are things going exceptionally well for you? Is your day to day life bountiful, and you find yourself struggling with little to pray for? Perhaps it is time for a good cry! Maybe the tears and sweat of your prayers need to be fed by an emotional response to something dear to you... love is a great example. There is no cry so satisfying in its release and restoration than that of a broken heart.
“For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”
2 Corinthians 1:5 ESV
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead also gives us a look into His compassion, and as He witnessed Lazarus’ sister Mary crying at His feet He became overwhelmed by Her grief... it was time for a good cry. This scene of suffering brought on a release of pent-up emotion from Him. We often trivialize this moment by calling it the shortest verse in the King James Bible, but this one verse is perhaps one of the most profound. It needs no other thought, or explanation to describe it...
“Jesus wept.”
John 11:35 ESV
I am a baby boomer, and as boys, we were often taught that men do not show emotion... emotions like sorrow, remorse, mourning, tender love, and yes the outward acts such as crying, demonstrating pain, or revealing meekness, were considered signs of weakness, and were never meant to be shown... especially in public. Emotion was to be driven deep inside us, and only shown on rare occasion, with a sense of embarrassment, and to those who were exceptionally close friends, or whom we loved and trusted deeply. Yet this is not what Jesus demonstrated, and it is detrimental to our spirits to hold it back. Holding our emotion is like holding back a sneeze... it hurts, and can cause us physical harm. It can bring on a stroke or aneurism, and this can cause death. Holding emotion from God can cause harm to our faith, and even spiritual death.
“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept.”
John 11:33-35 ESV
Crying, laughing, praying, and other certain physical and emotional responses give us relief, and comfort, but of these there is none more profoundly comforting than crying out to God. I read an interesting description by Charles Spurgeon today that describes suffering as one side of a scale, listen to his words...
“God, in His providence, holds a pair of scales- in this side He puts His people’s trials, and in that side He puts their consolations. When the side of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the side of consolation in nearly the same condition; when the side of trials is full, you will find the side of consolation just as heavy.” - Charles Spurgeon
When we suffer the most we seek God all the more, and so it is that in these, our moments of greatest heartbreak and pain, He hears our sobs and our prayers for mercy most loudly. Spiritually this is our “Good cry.” Falling into the arms of God brings great relief and comfort, but it quite often takes a great deal of hardship and suffering to bring us to this point of spiritual crescendo.
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!”
Psalms 130:1-2 ESV
So in the midst of great travail, and suffering; in those moments in which we either experience them ourselves, or we are moved by the suffering of others, we come to God... willing to yield unabashedly to him our greatest release of prayer, and to lean on Him most completely in our need for His help.
“The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.”
Exodus 15:2 ESV
And as we cry, and call out for God’s help, and the intercession of Christ’s prayers, we find that He is faithful, and His answer comes. This is our good cry, and it brings us an equally comforting bounty in return.
“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
And in our weakness we become strong, and with the hand of God we are strengthened. God doesn’t turn us away or chastise us because we seek Him in weakness... He loves us all the more, and pours His grace out upon us in abundance.
“But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the suffering and tears that bring me most sincerely to you, and I thank you for your Son Jesus who feels my pain and cries at my side... interceding for me as I pray for your help, comfort, and deliverance. Let your hand be upon me Gracious Father as I enter my prayer closet, and let your ears be attuned to my voice as I call out from the depths of my desperation for your mercy. Great are you Holy Father, and great is your salvation from my grief and despair. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who lifts me from amidst my troubles, and relieves my deepest pain and suffering. Praised be your name for your ever present mercy and grace. Great is your glory as you give me victory over my hardships as fill me with your joy. All glory, praise, and worship are yours now, and forevermore!
“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.”
Hebrews 5:7-8 ESV
Rich Forbes