“Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 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. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

~ John 11:32-36

It has always struck me how Jesus responded when his good friends Mary and Martha let Him know about Lazarus: “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” He didn’t jump up and run out the door. He didn’t act surprised. Instead, Scripture says that he stayed in the place where he was for two more days.

His reason? “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” He knew His Father’s intended outcome for Lazarus to be raised from the dead, that God might be glorified.

But his friends did not know this. When He finally arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had died and his friends were mourning. Martha said, “Lord, if you would have been here my brother would not have died.”

Instead of giving a cold, unfeeling, religious response like “I know what I’m doing – don’t you have any faith?!” He spent some time with Martha, assuring her with truth, “Your brother will rise again…I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (verses 23 and 25), encouraging her to affirm her faith in Him. And she did, even though she still didn’t understand what Jesus was about to do.

He wept with His friends Mary and Martha not because He didn’t know why this was happening (He did) nor because He couldn’t do anything about it (He could and He was actually about to in only a few minutes). He wept because He loved them, He loved Lazarus, and He could see and feel their anguish. He shared in their pain.

Jesus cares deeply about the pain of His children. He doesn’t always raise the dead (like He did with Lazarus), He doesn’t always take the pain away – but He does promise never to leave us – even weeping with us and catching our tears when they fall.

Psalm 56:8 says, “You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?” He wants to carry us, be our refuge in the midst of our suffering and pain.

He can have genuine compassion because He’s felt it all: rejection, betrayal, abandonment, hatred, deep sorrow, physical pain, torture, and an excruciating death. He understands this fallen world because He’s been here and left us an example to follow in His steps.

We serve a God who, even in His omniscience and sovereignty, weeps with those who weep. And He calls us to do the same: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15).”

Sometimes, in the midst of great suffering, there are no answers – no perfect words or instant solutions for the immediate pulsing pain at hand. But there is always the gift of Presence. The warmth of arms wrapped tight around the hurting. The hot wet tears – liquid love – falling in unison with the one you care for will speak more than 1,000 words.

They speak a language all their own:

“I may not hold the remedy to your pain, but I enter it with you.”

“You will not feel this alone. You will not endure this alone. I am here with you.”

We don’t have to live in this world very long to experience pain. And it is likely that you or someone you love is experiencing something very difficult right now.

You may be afraid to be vulnerable – to let your pain become known.

But He is poised with His bottle, ready to catch your tears.

Ready to calm you with His presence.

Ready to bear you up with His love.

Ready to resurrect you, to give you new life.

He is ready, because He is a God who is unashamed to weep with His friends.

“For the eyes of The Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer“

– 1 Peter 3:12

There is not a place in the universe that God does not see. His eyes see all, His ears hear all, He is all-knowing, all-seeing, all-hearing….He is omni-present and fully aware of and engaged in every aspect of His creation.

In 2005, I rode in a small five passenger plane from Entebbe, Uganda and landed on a small, dirt landing strip in Yei, Sudan. Two people from the orphanage and school we were working with picked us up and we traveled on dirt roads through rural village areas.

Even though I knew (by faith, really) that I was in Yei, I was hidden from the eyes of all who knew me (other than Joel and my friend who worked there at the time, Kelly). If you have ever been in a place that feels like “the middle of nowhere,” you will know what I am speaking about.

The fertile, rich soil in Sudan was deep brown; the leaves on the trees bright green; the sky a stunning blue. I couldn’t help but think that even though so few travel to this spot and have the privilege to see these trees, this land, and these beautiful people, God is there. God sees it all, maintains it all, cares deeply for all who dwell in these tiny, rural villages.

Job 28:24 says, “for He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.”

Then I think about one of the busiest places in the world I recently visited – New York City. Walking through Times Square at Christmas time was quite the experience – one which I don’t recommend for anyone who has issues with claustrophobia.

As I walked through that square, under the bright lights and amid beeping taxis, I squeezed past what seemed like thousands of people. Though I brushed shoulders with them and even looked some of them in the eye, I did not know them, but God does.

God knows every detail about every person that walks through Times Square each day. And He cares intensely about each one. And this is just one more thing that causes me to stand in awe of Him.

Whether you live in the busiest metropolis or the most obscure, rural village – God sees you. You are not hidden from Him.  And He cares deeply about you.

Sometimes we all may feel a little overlooked (or a lot overlooked) by people – perhaps even invisible. But God does not overlook us. In fact, He does the opposite. He beckons us to come closer – to behold Him who is beholding us.

“You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek ” – Psalm 27:8

King David had this revelation and fascination with God – He wanted to know the One who created, cared for, and called him – He wanted to know His Lord more than anything in the world.

He poured out this desire beautifully to The Lord in a prayer: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).

What does this mean – to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord? I read a few sermons, articles, and commentaries on this and a few ideas stuck out to me most.

To look on Him with eyes of faith during worship and to seek His face through His Word is to behold Him. When we admire the attributes of God – his mercy, loving-kindness, patience, grace – we behold His beauty.

We also gaze upon His beauty when we enjoy His creation and acknowledge Him as the amazing designer of it all.

The hundreds of types of trees, no snowflake alike, brightly colored tropical fish, a lion’s roar, the dots on a ladybugs back – they are all amazing and worth reveling in.

As are the little dimples – two in one, actually- that God placed in my daughters left cheek – just like a little “finishing touch” of cuteness 🙂

We each have a choice of what we will look at all day long – what we choose to behold with our eyes and dwell upon with our minds.

Remember that the God who sees the whole world also sees you and  invites you to come near to Him. As it says in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

So come behold His beauty today. You won’t be disappointed.

photo of Yei Sudan by USAID

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.” ~ Psalm 37:3

He trudges up the hill from the metro station, tired and overwhelmed from a long work day, yet eager to see his family. He opens the door, opens his arms, and swing dances his worries away with three little girls, their eyes shining. He is faithful.

She wakes up to the baby crying, says a quick prayer for strength, and enters the nursery for the third time that night.  She feeds, rocks and sing songs to her little one. She is faithful.

Sometimes faithfulness shines through most when you are overwhelmed, at your wits end, even. You think you have nothing to give and you are right. But then you think of Christ, the One to whom David wrote, “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” You grab ahold of that Rock and watch Him move through you in ways you didn’t think were possible.

And then there are times when faithfulness is shown by what we don’t do. When we say no to one thing in order to say a wholehearted “yes” to another.

He types vigorously in a dark room late at night, words quickly flowing to meet tomorrow’s deadline, he finishes fast. An unwanted image pops up on his screen. He stops, thinks, decides. He turns off the screen and walks away. He is faithful.

She exits the Capitol building and gets into her car to drive home from work. She knows that the emails will keep coming, but she turns off her blackberry and pulls into her driveway. Work is over – her kids take precedence now.  She is faithful.

To feed, to tend, to cultivate faithfulness. To “befriend” faithfulness. Sometimes it means doing the same thing again and again (and again!) because it is simply your duty, the task The Lord has entrusted you with today.

She pulls into the assisted living home with a bag of groceries, a new book, and some pictures of her grandchildren she printed off of the computer. She walks up the stairs into her mother’s room. She enters for the third time that week, this time ready to take her mother out to lunch, to brighten her day a bit. She is faithful.

She pulls out her book and places her fingers to the words, slowly sounding out the letters under her breath. She reads one word.  One word becomes a sentence. One sentence becomes a paragraph, one paragraph a page, one page a book. Soon she has completed 10 books. She is faithful.

And sometimes, faithfulness means being willing to sacrifice your very life for your fellow man. In December, Joel and I visited the World Trade Center memorial (see picture above). My hands moved slowly and deliberately over each name etched in stone, names of fire-fighters and service men and women who faithfully responded to the call of duty – and gave up their lives as a result.

While we can observe everything from small to heroic acts of faithfulness in the lives of those around us, we cannot fully understand faithfulness without looking to God, the Faithful One.

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” ~ Deuteronomy 32:4

Our God is a faithful, covenant-keeping God. He’s “the Rock” – steadfast, immovable, strong, secure, and enduring. We cling to Him, and we survive life’s storms. We stand on Him and rise above the waves. And when His character is tended and nurtured within us, He says that we too can be faithful.

Faithfulness is a fruit of, a result of God’s Spirit dwelling within the believer. What do you face today, friend, that causes your knees to weaken with fear or dread? What grates or grinds at your patience to the point of just wanting to give up? If God has called you to the task, He promises to be faithful to supply the grace and strength you need.

Call on the Faithful One, receive His grace today, and watch as the fruits of faithfulness bloom within you.