Jesus Isn't Leaving

The longer we wait for something, the more hope diminishes. We wait for a phone call from a job interview and the days keep passing by. We hope for a child, yet another month goes by with disappointment from our bodies. We wait for a loved one to turn their life around, and they continue to make choices that lead to their destruction. The minutes, hours, days, and months stack up, and hope grows fainter.

Martha and Mary lost hope. It was the fourth day since Lazarus had died. He was beyond death. Even a resurrection at day one, two, or three would have been miraculous, but day four? That was beyond impossible. We cannot know what it was like to wait for Jesus, to call out to him, to wait with hope, and then for hope to die. Or maybe we do know what it is like. We have called out for Jesus, we have prayed, we have let him know the situation, but we have had to wait, and in the waiting, our hope has died. So, next time, why bother with hope?

This is where some of you are. Why bother Jesus about anything? It is too painful to hope again. It is one thing when another person disappoints you, but Jesus? That is brutal.

Martha and Mary knew disappointment, pain, and lost hope. That was where they began with Jesus. He came toward them, and they responded and didn’t hold back. If we can be honest about our pain, if we can express disappointment as fully and truly as these sisters did, then maybe, just maybe, we can get to a place where we can hope again.

Jesus longs to hear from you. The good, the bad, and the ugly. He sees it all, and when we release our words, thoughts, emotions, and more, he meets us with his love, grace, mercy, and power. Who else do we have but Jesus?

Psalm 73:21–26 says, “When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” In the Gospel of John, it says, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God’” (John 6:66–69).

Jesus is with you. He isn’t leaving. In fact, he sent the Holy Spirit to be with you. He hears you, he sees you, and he longs for you to see him. Meditate on the Scripture from Psalm 73 or John 6 and write down any hope that rises up, even if it is just a glimmer. Hold on to this glimmer and ask the Holy Spirit to expand your hope. God isn’t leaving you.