The Importance of Being There
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”—JOHN 11:21 NIV
A middle-aged woman balanced her days between caring for her teenage children and her dying mother. For years,
she poured herself out for two generations of her family. In the end, her mother slipped away into the arms of Jesus, and the caregiver—exhausted and grief-stricken—slipped into despair.
“Where were You, God?” she cried out. “Why did You let my mother die? And how could You put me through so many trials at once? Didn’t You promise not to give me more than I could bear?”
Can you relate to this woman’s plight? Maybe you’ve been in situations where you felt abandoned by God. Perhaps, like Martha, you wondered where God was and why He didn’t appear “in time.” In Martha’s case, Jesus was there—working a greater plan that she couldn’t see.
The same is true for you. If you’ve been down in the valley, struggling beyond reason, God longs for you to know that He has not left you. He will never forsake you. Set your eyes on Him and watch Him trade your ashes for beauty.
Dear Lord, may I have the daily reminder that You are still right here beside me, walking with me…even through the hardest of times.
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.—2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (NIV)
The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.—Proverbs 19:8 (NIV)