There can still be joy in the valley.
Have you ever wondered where God is in your suffering? This question usually pops up when you’ve been in a relentless season of enduring one storm after another. You find yourself wanting to throw up your hands and say, "Enough!" If you are like me, you become so focused on the difficult circumstance that you lose sight of God and interpret that as Him losing sight of you. It’s hard, isn’t it, to not be consumed by the storms, where all you see is the dark clouds and hear the whirling winds howling around you? The noise is deafening and you become disoriented in your struggles.
Dear Friend, the Lord sees you in your suffering. In fact, He is working everything out in and through your suffering.
In the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, we see four character traits of God that show us exactly where He is in our suffering. Let’s break down that passage and be encouraged!
God Is Not Caught off Guard
"Now a certain man was sick: Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha… So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.' ... Jesus said to the disciples, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going so that I may awaken him from sleep.' The disciples then said to Him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will come out of it.' Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about actual sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, 'Lazarus died, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.'” Excerpts from John 11
When we receive shocking news, it's obvious in our reaction that we are caught off guard. We may wring our hands or cry out in despair. We may ask a million questions. “What are we going to do?” “How did this happen?” “Where do we go from here?” Yet, stating the obvious here, we are not God. We do not know the beginning from the end. We have not ordained the steps of man. So it stands to reason that we would respond this way initially. Yet, we have a God who has a purpose for everything that touches our lives.
As we see in the story of Lazarus' death, Jesus was very calm and matter-of-fact when addressing the disciples. He plainly stated that Lazarus died and that He was glad for their sakes that He was not there so that they may believe. As we will see a little later, Jesus waited two days before going to Mary and Martha. Jesus was not panicked or rushing because He knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.
When we are going through extremely difficult circumstances, what if God is allowing them so that we may believe? Believe that God can heal. Believe that God will give us strength when we are weak. Believe that God will provide. Believe that God will “resurrect” our circumstances.
The Lord is not caught off guard because the difficult circumstances in life are filtered through His loving hands. He has appointed them to increase our faith. Where is God in our suffering? In sovereign control, supporting us every step of the way.
God Is Never “Too Late”
"So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was." John 11:6
If we could, I’m sure all of us would say we would like to go through life without experiencing loss or pain. When any of us are suffering, we immediately want God to take it away. And, of course, that is only natural. No one wants to feel pain, but the reality is that we will not experience paradise until we get to heaven. Yet, that doesn’t stop us from praying for suffering to end, and that’s okay.
Let us take comfort from the story of Lazarus that Jesus did not rush to Mary and Martha, but actually waited two days before going to them. Whether they thought Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead or not, they were still in pain. I’m sure Mary and Martha could’ve used the presence of their friend Jesus to be there with them in their grief, but He waited…
Jesus knows the purpose of our waiting. His ways are perfect. If the Lord has us waiting, it is because He knows our faith will grow as a result. We will seek Him more and more. Like a deer panting for water, we won’t stop until we “find” Him (Psalm 42:1). And then in His perfect timing, He makes His presence known.
“So then Martha, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, and He who comes into the world.” John 11:20-27
We see here that Martha was essentially asking Jesus where He was when Lazarus died. But then you also see how her faith increased in the waiting to the point that she believed Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead. Not only that, but she confessed Jesus as the Christ. Indeed, Jesus was not too late. He had a Kingdom purpose for Martha’s waiting, and it was accomplished.
The Lord is never too late in your circumstances. Seek the Lord fervently while you wait, and the waiting will sow faith that will be harvested when He shows Himself in your circumstances.
God Has Compassion
When Jesus arrived in Bethany and saw Mary and the Jews weeping, “He was deeply moved and His spirit was troubled” (John 11:33). How amazing is it that even though Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead and their pain would cease, He still was moved to tears because of His compassion for the pain they were feeling?
When we wonder where God is in our suffering, we can know that He feels compassion for us, even though He has allowed the circumstance.
Nothing gives us a glimpse of how our Heavenly Father feels toward us than being a parent. A few years ago, I had a seven-year waiting season come to a miraculous end. During that time, I sought the Lord fervently for my child’s deliverance from alcoholism. And the way that answer came about is a story for another time, but in order to reach sobriety, you have to go through a detox period that can be very painful and scary. Thankfully, my child was in a facility so they were monitored through the process. During the worst hours of it, if I could’ve sweat drops of blood, I would have as I prayed like I never had before. My heart went out to my child, full of love and compassion.
If we as parents, being imperfect, can feel such compassion for our children, how much more does our Heavenly Father have compassion on us in our trials? It is painful for a parent to watch their children learning hard lessons, but we know that the lesson will yield deliverance. When He created us, He knew the lessons we would experience and, with compassion, how He would deliver us.
God Is Glorified
“This sickness is not meant for death, but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” John 11:4
Can you imagine if we adopted this mindset whenever we were sick or facing the sickness of a loved one? This wouldn’t just apply to sickness, but any trial at all. It would certainly shine an eternal light on the situation. The fact of the matter is that everything that happens in our lives has eternal purposes because our Sovereign Lord is in control of all things. There is nothing that is out of God’s control.
Many times, the lowest lows in life bring about the highest joys. Had we not gone through the valley, we would not have experienced the incredible joy on the mountaintop. If life was just going along smoothly, yes we may experience joy, but it wouldn’t be as profound as the joy we feel when being delivered from a difficult circumstance.
As believers, when we experience deliverance of any kind, we sing praises to our God. But even if we don’t receive an earthly deliverance, we still give glory to God for His provision, strength, courage, and peace to endure. There can still be joy in the valley.
The Bible is full of stories of Jesus bringing about emotional and physical healing in order to bring glory to the Father. Why would that be a main feature of God’s Word if it wasn’t just as true for us today? It absolutely is! God is still in the business of miracles and healing, whether big or small, all for His glory.
The next time you are suffering, instead of asking “Where is God?”, remember that He is on the throne and is not caught off guard by your circumstances. He will not be too late, will have compassion on you, and will be glorified.
I’ll leave you with these verses from Isaiah 53:3-5 as a final word of encouragement of where God is in our suffering: “He was despised and abandoned by men, A man of great pain and familiar with sickness;... However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, And our pains that He carried; Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, Struck down by God, and humiliated. But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.”
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Marcos Calvo
