Where was God when that happened? (Ezekiel 31-33; John 11)

Where was God when that happened? Maybe it’s a question you ask about something you see on the news, or maybe it’s something closer to home, a painful diagnosis, a bereavement, or a relationship breakdown. When we are facing hard times we can wonder where God is and why doesn’t He stop it.

It’s a question that was surely on the lips of Lazarus, Mary and Martha (John 11). Lazarus had got really sick and his sisters had sent word to Jesus to come, but Jesus had delayed in coming and Lazarus died. What’s worse is that Jesus deliberately stayed away, we are told that when he heard Lazarus was sick he stayed where he was for 2 more days (v6). Why? “Why did you allow our brother to die?” That was the question on the lips of Mary and Martha, you can hear their pain as they both say to Jesus “Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v21,33). Why didn’t you do something?

If that’s been your question, then John wants to show you something really important. When you face really hard times, like the loss of a loved one, it doesn’t mean that Jesus doesn’t love you. Three times in this chapter we are told of Jesus’ love for Lazarus (v3, 5 and 36). And not only that, we are told that it was because of Jesus’ love for Lazarus, Mary and Martha that He stayed away. Verse 6 begins with “so” or “therefore” in the Greek, most translations bring this out. It was actually because Jesus loved them that He stayed away. That is so helpful to remember when we are facing hard times. We may wonder why Jesus doesn’t stop certain things happening, but here we are reminded that sad things happening doesn’t mean that Jesus doesn’t love us. Living this side of the cross we can know even more clearly that He loves us.

We can also take huge comfort from the resurrection as Jesus here demonstrates his power over death. If Jesus hadn’t delayed we would not have the wonderful words “I am the resurrection and the life” which have brought comfort to millions of Christians over the last 2000 years. Lazarus, and the onlookers got to experience a foretaste of the day that the Lord Jesus will summon us all from our graves. Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead shows us His total power over death. When we are facing hard times, we can look forward to that day and consider how wonderful it will be.

But what about while we wait for that day? Jesus shows us that it is ok to weep while we wait. John 11:35 is a staggering verse in an incredible chapter. I am always struck that even though Jesus knows He is about to raise Lazarus from the dead, He takes time to stop and weep. Behold your God. He weeps over the sadness, sin and suffering in the world. He understands our pain, Jesus is not far off or remote. He knows what it is like to shudder as the tears flow down your face. We are twice told that He is “deeply moved” – an expression which involves a sense of outrage. As our saviour looks around and sees the hurt and brokenness in the world He had created good, He is outraged at the intrusion of suffering and death and the cause of it, sin and Satan.

Far from not caring, we see in this chapter not only that our difficult circumstances don’t disprove His love, but also that He cares enough to do something. He’s deeply moved and has done something to deal with the root cause of all the suffering. His love and compassion led him to go to the cross to die for our sin so that one day all who trust Him will enjoy a new creation with resurrection bodies and no more pain or suffering. John 11 shows us we can trust Him while we wait for that day. He’s working His purposes out for His glory and our good.