He Mourns with Us

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked.

"Come and see, Lord," they replied.

Jesus wept. Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go.

       John 11:32-35, 38, 41-44

The God outside of time had already seen and rejoiced in the miracle of life waiting. But for now, He wept with them.

Just because God has a plan for our lives, it does not mean He is callous to our grief. He wails with us now. And tomorrow, when life blossoms again, and hope is restored, and laughter rings in our world, His joy will be the wildest and the loudest.

The sorrows He allows for our benefit and for God's own great glory give Him no delight. The pain we carry in a broken world breaks His heart. He delights in hope, faithfulness, and a voice that has lost everything and still cries out, "I will obey!" And He delights in the miracle coming.

The presence of the Lord in our life is not a shield from sorrow. It is compassion standing in the suffering at our side and a promise for tomorrow. You are not alone in your grief. His eyes have wept over you. One day, He will also dance with you.