Christian Reflection and Prayer

God will wipe away sorrow forever

God feels empathy for our hardships

Scripture:

Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby
said, "See how much he loved him ."
John 11:35-36 NLT

But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the
city ahead, he began to cry.

"I wish that even today you would find the way of peace.
But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from you.
Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your
walls and encircle you and close in on you. They will crush
you to the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies
will not leave a single stone in lace, because you have
rejected the opportunity God offered you."
Luke 19: 41-44 NLT

Jesus' example

The story of Lazarus's death and resurrection (John 11:1-44)
contains a profound teaching about sorrow. When Jesus
arrived and was taken to the graveside, he wept openly.
Onlookers were impressed with the power of his grief and
immediately recognized it as an indication of his great love:
"See how much he loved him," they said.

The tears Jesus shed that day forever validate the experience
of human sorrow and grief. Even though we have the hope of
resurrection and we know that for the believer physical death
is not the final word, our tears and sorrow are appropriate and
good. How comforting to know that God himself is willing to
walk the way of sorrow with us! Is there any sorrow that you
have been unable to express fully? You can share it with the
Lord, for he understands your grief fully.

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation
and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

God will wipe away sorrow forever

Is God concerned about our pain?

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those
who are crushed in spirit. The righteous face many
troubles, but the Lord rescues them from each and every
one.
Psalm 34:18-19 NLT

He was despised and rejected — a man of sorrows,
acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on
him and looked the other way when he went by. He was
despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows
that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were
a punishment from God for his own sins! But he was
wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we
might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!
All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's
paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt
and sins of us all.   Isaiah 53:3-6 NLT

Crying ones

Through the pain and sorrow of Christ's experiences on
earth, God has experienced the depths of human grief.
You that are called born of God, and Christians, if you be
not criers, there is no spiritual life in you; if you be born of
God, you are crying ones; as soon as He raised you out
of the dark dungeon of sin, you cannot but cry to God.
John Bunyan

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing
House

A man was driving down the street frantically looking
for a parking space. He had an important meeting and
was running late. Not a space was in sight. In
desperation, the man turned toward heaven and prayed:
“God, if you find me a parking space, I promise to go to
church every Sunday and give up swearing for the rest
of my life!” Suddenly, the parking space in front of him
opened up. The man looked back up and said, “Never
mind, God, I found one!”

This story drives home two points. First, it
demonstrates our tendency to turn to God only in
times of trouble and crisis. Secondly, this story points
out that although we may make all kinds of changes
and commitments to God during our time of need, we
often forget about our promises when we no longer
“need” God’s assistance.

We can choose to remember God in good times as
well as in difficult times. We can choose to honor the
commitments we make when life gets tough, or even
better, we can dedicate ourselves to becoming better
people before we are in crisis.

Our God is good and faithful; He has done so much
kindness for us in the past. The best kind of gratitude
is to make Him the focus of our lives in the present

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein.

(excerpts taken from Holy Land Moments)