Where is He?

Sometimes life gets a little lonely.

Sometimes we feel desperate. Depressed. Left out. Frightened. Frustrated. Fill in the blank.

Sometimes, we have real problems, or real burdens… and it seems like Jesus just isn’t there. Like Job, we look — we search— all around us, and cannot find Him anywhere. Doesn’t He know what time it is— our hour of need?
Mary and Martha most likely had the same thoughts as the cold stone was sealed over the cold grave in which their sweet brother’s cold body now laid. Where is Jesus?

Jesus had an interesting answer for His twelve followers who are wondering the same thing: “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe.” (John 11:15a)

We know that because of salvation, because of the death and resurrection, we have Christ with us always. He is never away from us; but we also know that it doesn’t feel that way sometimes. And it is easy to begin to wonder where He is and why He doesn’t seem to be around if He professes to love us so much.

He wants us to believe. He wants us to grow and stretch faith in the rigors of His seeming absence. It is easy to believe when we have all the ingredients for belief lying in front of us; but faith is evidence of things not seen.

And the end of this choice for faith, as we see in the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in John 11, is life. The presence of Jesus is renewed, the dead walk again, and life is spoken into our hearts— an undeniable truth that Jesus is here, He sees, He knows, He cares. “Lo, I am with you alway.” (Matthew 28:20)