The Upper Room Daily Devotion – Friday, 31 January 2014 -”I’m Sad” Read John 11

The Upper Room Daily Devotion – Friday, 31 January 2014 -”I’m Sad” Read John 11: 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,[a] the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Footnotes:

a. John 11:27 Or the Christ

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.--Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

My brother-in-law has been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disorder. The man my sister has loved for more than 40 years is disappearing. In a recent letter, she detailed her husband’s worsening symptoms: hallucinations, insomnia, confusion, and fear. She closed her letter with the words, “I’m sad.” Sad — such a small word to express her anguish, fear, and hopelessness. How should we, as Christians, address sadness? Should we embrace it or pretend it doesn’t exist? Is being sad OK? Is hope to be found in the midst of grief? Jesus understands sadness. Jesus was moved by Mary’s grief at her brother’s death, and he wept. In Gethsemane he said, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow, to the point of death” (Matt. 26:38). The Lord embraces us and weeps with us in our sadness. In the midst of our grief, God gives us hope. “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (John 16:22). “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). We are never alone in our sadness; God is near to comfort us.--The Author-Karen Perez (Georgia, USA)

Thought for the Day: God knows and understands our sadness.

Prayer:

Dear God, we pray your blessing on those who are sad. Comfort them, and restore in them your joy. Amen.

Prayer focus: Those who are grieving

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