Hope for Caregivers: Three Ways Christ Carries Your GriefExemplo

Jesus would go on to do more than the sisters imagined that day. He would not stop their brother’s death; He would undo it.

He said, “Lazarus, come out,” and the dead man did. In an act that would seal His own death warrant, Jesus raised His beloved friend from the grave.

“I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus told Martha. “Do you believe this?”

Those of us who are caring for the sick and dying live in the moment that follows that question for now. We have begged God to heal, and we are reckoning with the fact that He may not.

But when Jesus does arrive on the scene, we see more of what He’s up to. We catch a glimpse into what He still does in this liminal space between our asking and His answer. In the midst of our waiting, this story reminds us that Jesus is not as far off as He might feel.

His nearness, His weeping with us, is the fuel that helps us keep going in the hard work of comforting, caregiving, and grieving.

Isaiah 54:8 speaks directly to experiences like this, yet from God’s perspective: “’For a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,’ says the Lord, your Redeemer.”

In Christ, God’s compassion never runs out. And the One who wept will one day wipe every tear from our eyes.