SPEAKER_00 0:10

Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Welcome to Pillars Abide in Me podcast, a weekly opportunity to abide in Christ through weekly pillar sermon and worship reflections. I'm Trish.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

And I'm Christian. Hear these words from the book we love. When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Martha got up and went to Jesus, and she said to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. Mary will say the same thing. Lord, if you had been here, if you had showed up, this wouldn't have happened. This death of this person I love, this marriage that ended, this loss of this job, the death of this dream. If you had been here, Jesus. Jesus, where were you? Why did you not come? Why did you not intervene and do something? It's a form of lament, crying out, bringing our pain and confusion and disappointment and anger to God. We all feel this. We all have felt this. Some confuse lament with a lack of faith. Just grin and bear it, they say. Just trust God. Don't show big feelings, don't ask big questions. But that's not what we see in the Bible. Two-thirds of the Psalms would be considered laments. That's over half of the Psalter. No, lament, crying out to God in anger and desperation and protest, that's not lack of faith. It's a courageous act of faith. Where else will we go with these raw emotions and burning questions? God is big enough. God invites us to bring them to Him. Would you bring it to Him?

SPEAKER_01 3:32

For our part as a Pillar Community, we'd love to be praying for you. So feel free to reach out to us at abide at PillarChurch.com. Let us pray. God of our salvation, you have restored us to life. You have brought us back again into your love by the triumphant death and resurrection of Christ. Continue to heal us as we go to live and work in the power of your spirit. To your praise and glory. Amen.