One evening recently I was asking myself as the psalmist did, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God" (Psalm 42:5 ESV). Although I didn't have an answer for that question, I was reminded of Jesus' words in the Garden of Gethsemane:
"My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with Me" (Matthew 26:38).
Through that I was reminded of a couple things:
1) Jesus knows every feeling we experience because He has been there too. He experienced sorrow, loss, deception, accusation, pain, torture, and death. So when it feels like no one could understand, He does. He understands what we can't even explain to ourselves. He not only watches with us, but He watches over us.
2) Jesus asked His disciples to stay nearby and keep watch, but in their human weakness, they fell asleep on the job. Although the church today has the same calling to watch over one another, there will be many times when we fail one another. We won't hear the cry for help; we won't ask the hard questions because we don't want to intrude; we'll fall asleep when someone needs us to abide with them.
The flip side is that sometimes we'll fail to ask for help, prayer, and encouragement when we need it. Whether we are ashamed of our neediness or we don't want to bother someone, we choose to keep silent and suffer alone. And I'll admit I'm guilty of that more often than not.
Ed Underwood writes in When God Breaks Your Heart: "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and those who are with Him will also be near" (73). If we say we want to draw near to God, then we should accept that it may mean a broken heart for ourselves or those who are close to us. Underwood writes about the death of Lazarus in John 11 and the fact that Jesus invites the disciples to go with Him, back to the place they were nearly killed just a short time before. They could have let Jesus go alone while they remained at a safe distance.
Jesus invites us to go near to the brokenhearted as well. Jesus ministered to many thousands of broken people through healing, feeding, raising the dead, forgiving, asking questions, and sharing the Word. Sometimes He calls us to participate in His ministry, to watch what He is doing, or simply to be present with those in need. (Even Job's friends were doing good when they came to sit with him.)
Whether or not those in the church draw near, whether or not we choose to be honest about our own needs, remember, "Friend, Jesus isn’t ignoring your pain; He’s feeling it. He’s not ashamed of your tears; He’s weeping with you" (Underwood, 134).
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 146:3).
"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8a).
© Dawn Rutan 2016. Photo by Dawn Rutan.
