Hope

"I don't know how its going to be ok..."   

How will it ever get better? How will I ever be ok?

Darkness, panic, fear, despair, closing in 

But I hear a whisper 

"You're going to make it"-HOPE

And this song came to mind

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus, 

look full in His wonderful face, 

and the things of earth will grow strangely dim 

in the light of His glory and grace" 

Eyes on Jesus-He is my HOPE

I walked out to my car with a heavy heart 

but with "Turn your eyes upon Jesus" singing sweet truth to me

I opened the door and noticed these small pink flowers beginning to bloom on my bush-HOPE

I got into my car and heard a strong "Quick, turn on the radio." 

I turn it up and hear these words

"God is never blind to your tears, to your pain. He sees. He hears. He will deliver"

Wow-HOPE

As I began thinking over those words, my mind wandered to "You are a God who sees." The God who saw Hagar-alone, hurting, mistreated, used, abused, cast off, sent away. She had lost everything and now she was in complete despair as she was about to watch her son die. She couldn't bear it. 

God saw her and He came to her.

He cared for her. 

I began to think of Mary. Lazarus had died. But what was worse is that when he was sick-Jesus didn't come. They called for Him. They sent word to Jesus. They asked Him to help. But He didn't come. Mary had seen Jesus heal others. I imagine when Lazarus was sick she thought surely Jesus would come heal him-they were His friends. His close friends. But Jesus didn't come. and Lazarus Died. Jesus wasn't there. I imagine confusion and disappointment and despair filled Mary's heart. Where was Jesus when they needed Him most?  They called for Him. Why didn't He come? Didn't he care? Why didn't he stop it?

 If only...

Confusion. Agony. Grief. Sorrow. Pain. Tears. 

Finally Jesus arrives, but it seems its too late. Lazarus is dead.

 Death has already come. 

It's over. 

It's irreversible.

I see another Mary. This time its Jesus who has died. The one they loved. 

The One who was their hope- He had died.

 Hope had died. She didn't understand. 

All there was left now was hurt, pain, confusion, and a deep emptiness. 

Jesus was dead. Now His body-all that was left of him-it was missing too. 

All she had was lost. Gone. 

An empty tomb. 

An empty heart.

Empty of hope-only filled with confusion sorrow and pain. 

But hope was not lost. 

She didn't know it. She couldn't see it.

 But Jesus saw her. And He came for her.

She was filled with such sorrow and was weeping that she didn't even realize that it was Jesus. 

Hope had come for her, and she didn't even realize it at first. 

She couldn't see Him blinded by her tears and sorrow. 

But Jesus didn't condemn her.

I love the way the Jesus Storybook Bible (by Sally Loyd Jones) writes it:

"I don't know where Jesus is!" Mary said urgently. "I can't find him." But is was alright. Jesus knew where she was. And he had found her. "Mary!" Only one person said her name like that. 

Jesus came for her. What she thought was the end-all hope lost-was really just the beginning. 

The beginning of new life! HOPE!

Hope like the world had never known. Jesus was ALIVE! 

He had taken all the sin and pain and hurt and confusion and harm and sickness and sorrow and agony and tears and death and every bit of brokenness into Himself and He allowed it to crush Him, to swallow Him up for a moment-so that He could defeat it, and break its power over us forever! Victory is His! And now LIFE, FREEDOM, and HOPE is ours forever! 

As i was driving what strongly spoke to me is how Jesus met each woman in her tears. Jesus came for each one of them. When sorrow, despair, great pain overtook them. 

When they couldn't come to Jesus-He came to them. 

Jesus cried with Mary. He stood with her and wept. Jesus knew that in a few moments Lazarus would rise. He knew that death would not be the end. There was HOPE and life coming. Yet somehow it was still important to Jesus to cry with her. He looked at that grave. He looked at what the brokenness had stolen away-He asked her to show Him, to take Him to that place of death. "Come and see, Lord." they answered. And there Jesus wept. They cried together. And the people saw Jesus heart, His love. "See how He loved him" And then-after He cried-Jesus brought life to where there was death. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He put God's glory on display for many to see by bringing new life to Lazarus!

Jesus whispered to me-"Let me cry with you. "Show me." Take me to those places and let's cry together. My heart is moved. My heart is filled with compassion for you. I love you. It matters to me. I know you don't understand. I know you wonder why this happened, where I was, why I didn't stop it, why didn't I come sooner. I know your heart is filled with pain and confusion. So let me show you My heart and My love for you. Take Me to each place. Let Me cry with you and for you. See My heart. Let Me show you My love. And then after we grieve together, I will bring life into this death! 

I bring HOPE! And many will see the glory of God on display."

The story of the other Mary in the garden brought HOPE in all it's fullness. This time Jesus took all the death and sorrow into Himself. In the garden of Gethsemane, He cried and grieved over all the pain and horrors unspeakable that would enter Him. He grieved alone. All His friends deserted Him. The Father would forsake Him. Alone. No rescue would came for Jesus. He prayed if possible let this pass...but no rescue came. On the cross, God turned away. Help did not come for Jesus. Only pain, hurt, anguish, death. And Jesus did that willingly. For me. For you. So that it would finally be finished. Finally all the brokenness and anguish and sorrow and sin and hurt and harm and wounds and tears and pain and death could die. Death swallowed up in victory. And LIFE could come at last! Everlasting LIFE! Everlasting HOPE! 

And this whispers

Jesus will bring HOPE to me. 

He sees me

He comes for me

He finds me when I don't know how to find Him.

He cries with me

He took all my sin into himself and He bore God's wrath. 

He took all my hurt and pain. He took all the harm done to me into himself. 

He experienced and carried all of my sorrow, all of my death-

so death would no longer have any power over me. 

So that he could bring life and freedom and HOPE to me.

And this HOPE gets personal.

A hope that comes to one crying woman in the garden. 

Jesus took the time for Mary. To come find her. 

To speak hope to her personally. 

Then he sent her to tell the others. 

Yes, the HOPE was for all of them. He wanted her to share it. But He came to her.  

He didn't go first to the room of disciples-

the ones who would be sent to help spread the gospel to the world. 

First He came to Mary.

Why Mary? Why this one confused hurting broken crying woman? 

He didn't condemn her for not getting it quicker. He didn't say where is your faith? Why didn't you get it that I would rise? Get up and stop crying. No. He tenderly came for her. He showed up personally and intimately just for her. He showed her He was alive. He brought her the message that she was loved. That she was His and loved by the Father- His daughter. "I am going to my Father and your Father." He brought her hope. Then sent her to share that HOPE with the disciples. With the world.

Jesus comes for me and Jesus comes for you. 

Personally. Intimately. He comes. 

He finds us when we are alone in our confusion and tears.

 He sits with us and He listens. 

He says take me, show me, tell me, and He cries with us.

 Then He shows us how He has died for us and has risen so we can have LIFE in His life. 

He says you are welcome here-with me, with the Father, in the Family of God-His dearly loved child forever. Then He sends us to share our HOPE with others.

Jesus death and resurrection changes everything! 

There is HOPE forever!

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, 

and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. 

All these things are gone forever. 

Rev 21:4

He will swallow up death forever. 

The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; 

He will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. 

The LORD has spoken. 

Isaiah 25:8

Those the LORD has rescued will return. 

They will enter Zion with singing; 

everlasting joy will crown their heads. 

Gladness and joy will overtake them, 

and sorrow and sighing will flee away. 

Isaiah 51:11