Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

The Holy Spirit spoke to me at a funeral this past weekend. The Eulogist spoke about worship God through our struggles. As I meditated on his message, the Holy Spirit tweaked my understanding from worship to come.

In Today’s scripture, John 11:20-22, 28-33 (NLT), we read…
[20] When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. [21] Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.”
[28] Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” [29] So Mary immediately went to him. [30] Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. [31] When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. [32] When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” [33] When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

Consider…
As I mentioned in my opening, the Holy Spirit spoke to me at a funeral. The eulogist showed me new insights from today’s familiar passage. I liked how he emphasized every word in scripture, including it’s placement, is important.

As I reflected on that truth, I read the passage again and discovered an additional hidden gem.

I discovered Jesus wants us to come to Him when we’re struggling. Notice in the midst of Mary and Martha grieving the loss of their brother Lazarus, they both went to meet Jesus.

Sometimes we miss Jesus because we’re waiting for Him to come us, when He’s wating for us to come to Him.

Here’s an important thing that our omnipresent God wants us to know, Jesus is still sitting at the His right hand. Therefore if we’re looking for Him, we must follow Colossians 3:1 (NLT), which says…
[1] Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

Stop looking for Jesus here on earth, when He’s sitting Heaven.

In fact the Apostle Paul told us in Ephesians 3:12 (NLT)…
[12] Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.

Notice, we can come to God.

This makes me think of Jesus’ prodigal son parable. Recall, the son returned to his father after he was tired of struggling. Let’s hone in on Jesus’ words in Luke 15:20 (NLT)…
[20] “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

Notice, when the father saw the son coming, he went to meet him. The Holy Spirit emphasized, it’s the same way with our Heavenly Father, when He sees us coming, He will move to meet us. But don’t miss the important fact that we have to come to Him.

Speaking of coming to Jesus in our struggle, I can’t help but highlight the familiar story of the woman with the issue of blood.

Mark 5:25-29 (NLT) shares…
[25] A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. [26] She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. [27] She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. [28] For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” [29] Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.

Notice verse 27 says she heard about Jesus and came to Him. She just wanted to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe to be healed. The Holy Spirit used this to emphasize, coming to Jesus in the midst of our struggle is an expression of faith.

Then the Holy Spirit said, look at Jesus’ response to the woman’s faith in Mark 5:34 (NLT)…
[34] And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

Wow! 🤯. When I have read that in the past, I focused on the woman’s physical healing, but the Holy Spirit showed me verse 29 already said she had been physically healed. When Jesus spoke in verse 34, He was speaking of her emotional and spiritual healing.

Most of us need the same emotional and spiritual healing too. That’s what Jesus is waiting for us to come to Him for.

As that truth crystalized in my spirit, the Holy Spirit guided me to Hebrews 4:15-16 (NLT)…
[15] This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. [16] So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

This not only led me to today’s song, it also pressed play on CeCe Winans singing…

God is just a prayer away
All you need to do is call
He will hear your faintest cry
He’s concerned about you

So, while your tears are flowing through
Your time of mourning
He is here to lift your heavy heart
‘Cause He’s in love with you

He knows, He cares
He sees, He’s there
And He’ll carry you
He’s concerned about you

Notice the lyrics begin with God is just a prayer away, which pressed play on an old song we used to sing in my youth…

God is, standing by
Waiting just, to hear your cry
Call Him up, night or day
God is just a little prayer away

So the next time you’re struggling, or if you’re in the midst of a struggle now, follow the lead of Mary, Martha, the prodigal son, and the woman with the issue of blood, and come to Jesus.

Just as I was about to put a pin in today’s encouragement, the Holy Spirit leaned into how Mary and the woman with the issue of blood came to Jesus humbly.

Their humility hit play on Tamala Mann singing…

Take me to the King
I don’t have much to bring
My heart is torn in pieces
It’s my offering
Take me to the King

Truth is I’m tired
Options are few
I’m trying to pray
But where are You?
I’m all churched out
Hurt and abused
I can’t fake
What’s left to do? (Come on)

Truth is I’m weak
No strength to fight
No tears to cry
Even if I tried
But still my soul
Refuses to die, mm-hm
One touch will change my life

Take me to the King
I don’t have much to bring
My heart’s torn in pieces
It’s my offering
Lay me at the throne
Leave me there alone
To gaze upon Your glory
And sing to You this song
Please take me to the King

Then the Holy Spirit emphasized the importance of being taken to the King is that a king sits on a throne. Thus, recall Hebrews 4:16 (NLT) said…So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

If you want want God’s help, you must come to His throne.

In closing, there’s a popular saying, that the struggle is real, and it is, but so is the healing power of Jesus for your soul. So when you get tired of struggling, come to Jesus for rest, and healing for your soul.

Today’s song is…
Healing

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)