Joy and Heartache

Jesus wept. – John 11:35

In a Bible study last year, I asked a group of fifty women, from their mid-twenties to early eighties to write down, on one half of a heart-shaped piece of paper, one or two things that filled their hearts with JOY.  On the other side of the heart, I asked them to write down a current heartache. 

Now it’s your turn.  What brings you JOY?  What causes your heart to ACHE?   

When I later sat down to read the hearts I’d collected, my own heart was overwhelmed with both thanksgiving and grief.  I thanked God for their abundant joys, then cried out to Him for the deep aches of these beautiful women.

I was deeply moved by the pain they openly expressed.  When I sorted their joys and aches into categories, it quickly became apparent that the most common cause of both their greatest joys and deepest aches were their closest relationships.  (With more than 75% of these coming from their families.)  

• We love our spouse and JOY abounds after thirty years of faithfulness.  But when we lose our spouse to death or another woman, the ACHE in our hearts almost unravels us.  

• We receive so much JOY from raising our children or grandchildren.  But when bad influences steal their innocence or drugs rob them of God’s plan for their lives, we ACHE from shattered dreams. 

• We adore our family celebrations and vacations when JOY is shared.  But when cancer comes or dementia debilitates, we ACHE with what the future holds. 

As I read the joys and aches of these women who I adore, I wept.  As the tears fell, I remembered the shortest verse of the Bible, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).  I could see Jesus sitting with Mary and Martha whom He loved like family.  The sisters mourned for their brother Lazarus.  Jesus was moved by their heartache and wept with them.

I believe that when we weep, Jesus weeps with us, as He did with Mary and Martha.  Let that reality wash over and comfort you.  Yes, you can be comforted by Jesus’ closeness when your heartaches start unraveling you, when your dreams are shattered, or when the future looks desperately dark.

Jesus was fully man while here on earth so He understands our joys and our aches and, as God, He rejoices with us when our hearts are full of JOY and He weeps with us when our hearts ACHE.  Jesus was and is our Savior. After weeping with Mary and Martha, He looked up to God, thanked His Father in Heaven, then raised Lazarus from the dead.

Like the sisters, we can thank Jesus that He alone can save us, give us eternal life, and comfort us every day.  

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

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