When God Is Silent: Finding Faith in the WaitingSample

The God Who Weeps

Jesus gets word that Lazarus is sick. But instead of rushing to help, He waits. And in that waiting, Lazarus dies. That doesn’t feel like love—it feels like absence.

When Jesus finally arrives, both Mary and Martha say the same thing: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21, 32, ESV). You can hear the disappointment in their voices.

Jesus doesn’t correct them. He doesn’t get defensive. He weeps (John 11:35, ESV).

Let that sink in—God in the flesh stood beside a grave and cried. Not because He was helpless, but because He is loving. The silence wasn’t distance—it was delay. And in His delay, Jesus was preparing to show something greater than healing. He was preparing to show resurrection.

That’s the pattern of the gospel: death, then life. Darkness, then light. Silence, then breakthrough.

If you’re standing in the same kind of moment—waiting, weeping, wondering—remember: Jesus is not far off. He is near. And He weeps with you. But not only that—He is also “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25, ESV).

Reflection

Are you willing to trust a God who waits—even when you don’t understand why?