IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE
IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE
Pain wrenches the heart to see a loved one suffer,
The sweet memories of happier years make coping harder.
Already a sense of helplessness had begun to arise,
Every joy of life seems to cease at a loved one’s demise.
If only Jesus had been here… the heart bitterly feels,
He would have stretched out His hand and immediately heal.
But Jesus was not around when Lazarus was at death’s door,
Word was sent to Jesus to come quickly lest life was no more.
Four days passed but there was no sign of the Lord,
Lazarus had succumbed to illness and had gone home to God.
Martha and Mary found themselves weeping bitter tears,
Why had not Jesus come when He knew of their fears?
Jesus finally came to the Judea where the family lived,
He saw many weeping copious tears in deep grief.
Martha rushed to Him and uttered words of pain,
“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died in vain.”
Jesus understood the great sorrow that Martha felt,
Love makes one more vulnerable when death is met.
He sought to help her revive her faith that had taken a beating,
Did she believe that Jesus had the power to resurrect him?
Mary was informed that the Master had come,
She went to Jesus but heart seemed numb.
“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died!”
She did not know what else to say, her heart bitterly cried.
Jesus looked at the sisters and then at the crowd,
Had they all forgotten what He had often said aloud?
He wept too! But not for the same reason,
His tears came because unbelief had struck like poison.
Jesus knew that Lazarus was sick and that he would die,
He may have seemed far away but He was in fact always nigh.
Faith in Him could have lessened the pain,
There was no need to crumble under the strain.
A deeper faith must indeed be sought and found,
Or else life’s trials would cause one’s faith to be unsound.
Faith in Jesus would be tested time and again,
The heart needs to stay resolute no matter the pain.
John 11:21, 32