I’ve been thinking about weeping.
In John 11, Jesus loses a friend. He was close with Lazarus and his sisters. They had probably shared countless meals together, laughing and marveling at the world around them and what God was doing in their hearts. Jesus and Lazaurus may have shared their hearts as brothers over a flickering late night fire. They had most likely consumed their fair share of coffee and taken their fair share of hikes through the woods. They were friends.
Then suddenly, Lazarus is gone. Now I know Jesus knows all things, so he knew he was going to resurrect his friend, so there is something about this story that simply wrecks me. He returns to Mary and Martha, who also know Jesus has the power to bring life to ashes, and they are livid. Why. Wasn’t. Jesus. There. When. We. Needed. Him.
Overcome with grief, Jesus weeps.
Now why did he weep if he was cooking up a resurrection plan the whole time??
Why didn’t he just pat the girls on the back and say “no worries, ladies. I’ve got this.”
Why did he weep if he knew it was all going to turn out ok??
This morning, as I’m on the verge of tears about a million different things going on in my life, I am comforted knowing our savior and friend Jesus Christ of Nazareth wept–not just teared up –wept– over the loss of his friend he was planning to raise from the dead since the beginning of time.
Maybe it’s ok to weep. Maybe it doesn’t mean we’ve given up hope. Maybe it doesn’t mean we’ve lost all faith. Maybe it merely means we have done all we can do and we need our Father to step in and do what only he can do. Maybe acknowledging the depth and the sorrow of our situation is part of God’s plan. Maybe it’s the point where we realize we need him more than ever to breathe life into our hopeless circumstances.
Maybe you’re in the middle of a loss. A huge gaping hole is clawing at you, inviting you into its chasm, begging you to adopt an orphan mentality.
Maybe there is literally nothing left you can do to fix your marriage. Maybe it’s time to sneak away with your Daddy and just weep. Maybe it’s in the tears we find out what our Father is capable of.
I hate crying. I pride myself on only crying a few times a year.
But maybe it’s time to let the tears fall and recognize my utter helplessness without the God of the universe stepping in and doing what only he can do.
Remember, weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Sarah D. Shearer 
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