Falling At the Feet Of Jesus- Does God Even Care Part 2

People handle suffering, loss, and disappointment in many different ways. Some people retreat and isolate themselves suffering in silence. Others lash out in anger or drown their sorrows in the things of this world, hoping it will distract or relieve them of their pain. What would happen if we surrendered our pain and suffering and laid it at the feet of Jesus?

“When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:32 (NLT)

Here we are at the scene in the book of John where Lazurus has been dead for four days and both of his sisters are in deep mourning and distress. Martha has her own exchange with Jesus, but here we are going to focus on Mary’s response. When Martha returns to Mary to let her know that her Master(Jesus) has come, Mary immediately goes to Jesus without hesitation and falls at His feet weeping.

Even in her grieving, Mary didn’t waste any time going straight to Jesus. As she expresses her sorrow to Jesus, her posture of falling at his feet was humble and yet still submissive to His will. It may be tempting to turn away from God when we are grieving and upset, but that is the time to turn to Him even more. We don’t have to be afraid to express ourselves to our Heavenly Father, even if that means we are sharing disappointment, frustration or anger that things didn't pan out the way we hoped.

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When we feel overwhelmed with emotion, it’s ok to fall to our knees and cry out to God and share our deepest sorrow and anguish with Him.

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Our thoughts may even lead us to believe that when our hearts are broken, God is far away, nowhere to be found, and that our problems are not of importance to him. However, Psalm 34:18 says that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and rescues those whose spirit is crushed. Jesus was on His way to console a grieving Martha and Mary. In the midst of your pain, Jesus is very near and ready to bring you comfort and bind up your wounds. He sees all of our sorrows. Not one tear is shed that goes unnoticed. Psalm 56:8 says that He collects all of our tears in a bottle and has recorded each one in His book.

When we hurt, God cares! He doesn't just look at us and say, “oh you little mortal, you just don't understand how I work.” No! He genuinely understands and relates to our feelings and wants to meet us where we are at. When Jesus saw Mary weeping, the grief and tears moved Him and He was filled with compassion. In verse 33 in the NASB version it says that Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled and then in verse 35 it says He wept. Jesus not only empathized with Mary and Martha’s feelings but he cared deeply about the sting and effect that death left everyone.

It’s like when our children come to us and express their grief of not making the team, or being excluded by a group of kids at school. Whatever pain they may be dealing with, we naturally hurt when our children hurt and we want to soothe them and uplift their spirits. If we as human beings can share in our own children’s anguish and pain, how much more does our heavenly Father care and relate to us when we too are experiencing worldly troubles.

We must remember that no matter what suffering and loss that we have in this world, God doesn't take joy in our pain. We must trust that even when he allows it, He will be close to us offering comfort, strength, healing and restoration.

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How do you handle grief or a crisis? Do you fall at the feet of Jesus trusting that His love for you remains or do you find yourself questioning his goodness and creating distance?