Making Mad Work

I feel all of my feelings deeply. Whether it is hormones or not, my emotions make their presence known loud and clear. I have a tendency to bottle mine in until I explode. And the outburst is not pretty. And even though we all have emotions, we have vastly different ways of dealing with them. The sermon recap dives into emotions, and the proper way to navigate life with them.

Sunday’s sermon was pulled from John 11:38-44. Lazarus, the one Jesus loved, had fallen sick and ultimately died. Mary and Martha sent for Jesus, before Lazarus’ death, to come and heal him. Jesus did not come then. He arrives in town 4 days after Lazarus’ death. Mary and Martha meet Jesus and tell him that if He had been there when they called, Lazarus would not have died. They are distressed. They are weeping. The crowd is weeping. Jesus asks them where they have lain Lazarus. Jesus weeps, and they make their way to Lazarus’s tomb.

When they arrive at the tomb, Jesus is angry. No doubt He has heard all the naysayers in the crowd. The loud whispers about His inability to save Lazarus. The lack of understanding in His own disciples. The very real torment experienced by Mary and Martha who felt it was too late and all hope was lost. The Savior of the world was surrounded by hopeless people who believed in His power one moment and doubted it in the next. So He is angry. The Bible does not say that His anger dissipated. Or that He put on a glad face. Nope. While He was angry, Jesus got to work.

And that my friends is a Word for me. Too often, I get angry with the way life is going, and my response is to stop. I throw up my hands and stay in my own little corner. I want to pout it out. Forget assignment. Forget calling. Let me have this moment to feel my feelings. And the example that Jesus gives is life changing for me. Feel your feelings AND continue to do the work. Do not ignore the feelings. Do not squish them down. Emotions are a vital part of life, and every emotion can be used for the glory of God when we respond positively.

While angry, Jesus told that same crowd of naysayers to take away the stone. Martha interjected and asked Him if that was a wise idea. After all, Lazarus had been dead for four days and probably had begun to stink. Jesus reminds her that if she believed she would see the glory of God. He lifts His eyes up to heaven and thanks God for always hearing Him. He tells Lazarus to come forth, and the once dead Lazarus comes out bound in graveclothes. The Lazarus who needed Jesus desperately-whether Jesus was angry or not.

Thank God Jesus did not handle His anger in the same way that I so often handle mine. We cannot allow our emotions to validate our absence in places where we are needed. Our inability to handle emotions appropriately have true consequences. Lazarus was in a life and death situation. I’m sure He would take an angry/happy/sad/goofy Jesus any day over an absent Jesus. I have a responsibility to my calling that supersedes my angriest days. If He called me to it, He has intentions for that area of my life. If He calls YOU to it, He has intentions for that area of YOUR life. My response is to go where He leads me.

Make mad work for you. Allow it to push and propel you to go farther. Allow it to make you work harder. There is a lost world waiting for you to fulfill your assignment. And they do not care if you do it mad. They are waiting to be brought back to life. #wepreach