Overcoming Pandemic Grief

Do a miracle, just like I read about in the Bible!

And nothing happens, the person dies. And you are left with that nagging question in your heart, why wasn’t the Lord here?

Why?

Why didn’t he heal my loved one?

As pastors we have the privilege and the burden of walking into the valley of the shadow of death with many people...and to be honest there are times when I lament the absence of the miracle... honestly, a resurrection or two would be nice!

Grief can drive a wedge between us and God. We think he doesn’t care and doesn’t understand. After all, he has the power to heal; he’s done it before. Why not for me?

It’s better to be honest with God and with ourselves than to deny the disappointment and not deal with it.

The buried grief can lead to anger and anger left unchecked will show itself in our attitudes and our words, and in our relationship with the Lord.

That’s a recipe for a stagnant and unfulfilled Christian life.

II. Complication: why is Jesus Weeping before He’s About To Call Out Lazarus?

Verse 33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved (angry) in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

35 Jesus wept. (!)

36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”37 ** But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Did you notice this comment? ... could he have done something?... he’s healed other people – blind people for example!

... many friends have gathered around Martha and Mary to comfort them.

We have weeping, and we have Jesus himself groaning in his spirit and then weeping, with his grief so obvious it brings a response from the mourners . . . "see how he loved him."

What is going on here?

Jesus is mourning yes, but he intentionally delayed his coming to Bethany by two days.

Why did he do that??? ... and now as he is about to raise Lazarus – he’s weeping?

Remember verse 4; "this sickness is not unto death, but that the son of God may be glorified through it."

And also in v. 15 – (to his disciples) ... “now you will believe.”

There is a purpose in this death.

God has a plan at work here.

Many times when a loved one dies, we have a big problem figuring out how to make sense of the tragedy.

How can that serve the purposes and eternal plan of God?

**I would say to you that there’s a very good chance it doesn’t serve the purposes and plan of God at all.

We have to face the reality of this fallen world...

• negligence happens (human error);

• accidents happen;

• beyond that evil shows itself in many forms – including terrorism... planting bombs at the Boston Marathon a few years ago.

Indeed, death is our enemy – and it is not yet destroyed. Defeated yes – destroyed – not yet.

... Jesus says God will be glorified through this death, but there is a price to be paid for this glory. The price is grief.

Let’s see what happens here...

Iii. Resolution: Now We Come To The Dramatic Miracle...