Jesus had both spiritual and emotional ties to Lazarus. And
now Lazarus dies.
From
John 11:1 to 32 Jesus is talking smart with so much confidence, and spiritual
knowledge and gusto in the midst of the situation. He knew beyond a shadow of a
doubt that He was going to handle the situation, death? He got this!
But
v 33 it seems like Jesus ‘breaks’ down. Jesus is troubled in his spirit. He
groans and finally in 35, He weeps, freely. Jesus was troubled (v.33) Because no matter how spiritual you
are, or how much you know, nothing can prepare you for being in a situation,
than actually being in the situation. Then you actually feel, pain, grief, hurt
like every other person. And you cannot just understand or wish the feeling
away. Even Jesus with all the answers felt too. And sometimes you get to feel
life.
But
let us back off a little and view these verses more critically that alluded to
his grief;
v.33
He groaned in the spirit and was
troubled
v.35
Jesus wept
v.38
Jesus again groaning in himself,
cometh to the tomb…
If
you look at it carefully, Jesus was not just crying or mourning!
First,
he started by groaning in the spirit
Romans
8:26
In
the same way, the Spirit helps in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to
pray for, but the Spirit himself
intercedes for us through wordless groans.
So
Jesus was not just crying He was groaning in the spirit like Romans 8:26
explains. Jesus was emotionally distressed since He was still living in the flesh; the
flesh gets weak in some circumstances, you do not even know what to pray; He
was in an emotional state of being unable to enunciate words, so he began to groan in the
Spirit.
Then
v.35. Jesus wept. You can notice the chronology of events and for the fact that
these two events were separated, means that they are not the same. Groaning in
the spirit is not the same thing as crying or weeping and the simple difference
is that while one was a spiritual activity, the other corresponding activity
was physical. Very physical.
So
we can see that groaning/praying in the spirit has a direct and dual
relationship with our emotions. Because Jesus ended up expressing his physical
emotion; weeping after He had groaned in the spirit. And I believe this was not
weeping of regret or pain but the type that heals the soul.
- Praying and worshiping in the spirit directly affects our emotions.
Jude
20 …praying in the Holy Spirit,
Jude
21 keep yourself in the love of God
There
is a special manifested form of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts when
we pray, worship, and groan in the spirit.
So the consequence of what Jesus was doing was first, praying the perfect will of God for the situation, then he was
encouraging his heart and emotions, and allowing the spirit comfort him in the
present tragedy through groaning/praying in the spirit.
Then
again, praying in the spirit is a weapon part of the full armour of the spirit
to fight the enemy.
Ephesians
6:18: with all prayer and supplication
praying at all seasons in the Spirit…
So
you can see that Jesus was not just grieving and weeping without any reason, or
just being overly emotional, He was strengthening his emotions and praying the
perfect will of God for that situation! and setting up the atmosphere for a
miracle!
Then
v. 41 Jesus starts vocalizing his words audibly in prayer
v.43
after praying Jesus commands the outcome he wants from the situation; Lazarus
come forth!
So after you've groaned in the spirit, prayed in tongues, then probably poured out the hurt through crying and weeping; pray in English or in your understandable dialect what you want God to do.
Then decree and declare in faith exactly what you want as the outcome for that situation; if it is peace, speak peace to your heart,speak healing, speak miracles into being by faith!
God is faithful, you will see healing and a miracle in your situation!
So
I hope this is able to help you if you are dealing with grief, sadness, loss,
depression, suicidal thoughts. You are not alone. Jesus Christ the captain of
our faith was like us in every way. He felt like we felt and this is how he
dealt with the situation:
·
He groaned/prayed in the spirit
·
He prayed
·
He commanded the outcome he wanted from the situation; Lazarus come forth!
And
God is able to both bless your emotions and actually change the situation
giving you those negative emotions. Isn’t God good? You can activate the power
of God in your life and see miracles in your situation by emulating our Lord
and savior. I encourage you today, study John 11 preferably the King James version, allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you comfort through his word. I didn't even get to explain the preceding scriptures; so many helpful words, and God's word is spirit and life John 6:63. Studying of the word produces healing to our emotions. take time today and bask in God's love through worship, praying in the spirit, praying and speaking to your situation.
Philippians
4:7
And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Instead
of building walls around your heart, allow peace to guard your heart.
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