Monday,
June 8, 2026
John 11:33-35
33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also
weeping which came with her, he groaned
in the spirit, and was troubled,
34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him,
Lord, come and see.
35 Jesus wept.
In the same way a service dog senses that something is not right with their patients, some of us have been gifted with the
ability to sense pain in others. We
see through the smiles and happy-go-lucky attitude to the depths of a person’s
heart. I’m one of those people, but I don’t always appreciate this ability
because there seems to be pain everywhere.
I attended a police chaplain’s
conference in Dallas several years ago and met
some of the first responders to the Oklahoma City bombing. They told of the
carnage they had to witness and how they gradually grew numb to the pain. Many
of these ministers and counselors were still groaning in their spirit. They had seen and felt more than they
were prepared for.
The word “groaned” in verse 33 is the Greek embrimaomai which means
“to snort with anger or to sigh with chagrin.” More than being sorrowful, Jesus was angry at death. Knowing this
changes the tone of His question:
“Where have ye laid him?” I hear a determined resolve to reverse the cause of
pain. Only God could do this.
As you go through this day keep a sharp eye out for the pain in others. Develop a
firm resolve to reverse the cause of pain if possible. Then pay attention to
yourself and do what Jesus often did. Steal away to some quiet place and talk
to the Father so that your peace may return.
1 Cor 12:26
26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer
with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Lord, give me a keen insight into the pain of others and a
heart to help. When I am worn, restore me that I might help again. AMEN
No comments:
Post a Comment