Trusting in the Midst of Sorrow
For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance. — Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Jesus wept. — John 11:35
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: Jesus wept at Lazarus’s tomb, showing that sorrow in the face of death and loss is legitimate, even when we know the promise of the resurrection. We can acknowledge our feelings, mourn, and grieve the separation, but not as those who have no hope. Our tears should be illuminated by the certainty of eternal life, the power of God, and his control over every situation. Amid the pain, there also comes a time to affirm our faith, cry out to the Lord, and proclaim words of hope. In this way, trust in Christ strengthens us and progressively heals us without denying the reality of our sorrow.
When the Lord sees that tomb where Lazarus lies, it says that Jesus wept. Frankly, I do not know what happened there. I believe that the Lord’s human side was moved, and He also wept because that is what death is like; death is overwhelming even though we know that something more is coming.
I believe this is important. When we see our loved ones in a coffin, I believe it is legitimate to cry. Sometimes people seem to put so much pressure on believers: if you truly believe that your loved one is going to rise again, you should not cry, you should not be moved. No. There is a place for crying when our loved ones die and when we see their body lying there, and we know that there will be a separation, at least for a time, right?
Mourning has its rightful place; when there is loss, it is legitimate to cry, it is legitimate to feel sad. What we cannot do is grieve like those who have no hope, as the Bible says. We can cry, but our crying should be tinged with hope, a crying that also has a ray of light in it, where we cry but do not cry desperately with the kind of weeping, that lament, that people sometimes display. You have seen people in our countries when they mourn loved ones who have died. They scratch themselves, they throw themselves on the floor; it is almost a heart-rending, terrible kind of weeping when people do not have the hope that we Christians have, we who know the power of God and the resurrection.
We can grieve, but not like those who have no hope; we know that there is eternal life, right? So the Lord invites us—He wept—He invites us to acknowledge our feelings, but also to trust in the midst of sadness that He is in control and that there is hope for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. In any situation in your life that involves loss and mourning, it is legitimate to cry, it is legitimate to grieve a loss, to acknowledge our feelings.
But there also comes a time when it is enough: enough tears, enough crying. Now I am going to affirm my faith, I am going to reaffirm my faith, I am going to cry out to the Lord, I am going to speak words of hope in the midst of my pain, and those words will strengthen you and heal you more and more. God bless you, and may these words encourage your life as they have encouraged mine. Your brother in Christ, Roberto Miranda, bids you farewell.