We all know the shortest verse in the Bible -- "Jesus wept" found in John 11:35. We see the human element of Jesus when He shed tears over the death of his friend Lazarus and saw the sadness of Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha.
But, since today is Good Friday, let me point you to another passage where Jesus didn't merely cry, He cried OUT.
Luke 23:44-46 -- "And it was now about the sixth hour (12 noon), and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), the sun being obscured and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit." And having said this, He breathed His last."
I come from a family of people who cry easily and often, but recently I understood again the difference between crying and crying OUT to God.
On March 2, just a month ago, our oldest grandchild Allie had a serious accident. She was with some friends at an indoor rock climbing facility near her college campus in Nashville, a place where she had been many times before. On this particular day, though, she wasn't paying close enough attention to all the straps needing to be fastened on her harness. When she was about halfway up the wall she was scaling, she started to slip and realized her harness was not going to prevent her from falling.
The fall was terrible. She shattered one of the vertebrae in her back and cracked several others. The pain was excruciating, but miraculously, she could move her arms and legs. She was taken to the hospital where she underwent a five-hour surgery the following morning.
On March 3, before, during, and after her surgery, I found myself helpless and crying out to God. I grasped during those days how the psalmist felt and why so often, the Scripture said he cried out. My husband and I cried when we first heard the news. My son called early the next morning, and I cried. Allie called before her surgery, and we cried together. My sister called, and we cried. But when I was alone, my prayers to God could best be described as times of crying out.
I'm a self-sufficient person. Rarely would I describe myself as helpless, but this was one of those times. Both because of Covid restrictions in hospitals AND because I wasn't the most appropriate person to be with Allie, I couldn't physically "be there" for Allie. I had to rely on someone else and Someone else.
My crying out was a plea for help for my granddaughter, begging God to be merciful to her. It was an acknowledgment of my own weakness and helplessness and total dependence on God's power. It was a time of desperation but also of faith. Just as I learned when Steve and I were in Ecuador and our children, 3000 miles away from us, went through pain and crises, I knew God could take better care of Allie than I could. I had to trust Him.
The surgeon later reported that Allie missed being paralyzed by 2 millimeters. She was truly granted mercy.
God says over and over in His Word that when we cry out to Him, He hears us.
Psalm 50:15 -- "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee."
Psalm 145:19 -- "He (God) will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He will also hear their cry for help and save them."
God heard the cry of His Son on the cross, and three days later, the resurrection occurred.
Is something making you weep today? Do you find yourself crying out in desperation to God?
Believe the promises in His Word. He IS listening.
I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend.
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