Author’s note: This is the founding article for a monthly devotional series by the same title. “Once More Deeply Moved” is the title for an ongoing series of devotional articles dedicated to the challenges associated with the process of Christ being formed in our lives. This article outlines the Biblical source of the inspiration for title of the devotional series, “Once More Deeply Moved.” On a personal note, this article, “Once More Deeply Moved,” is dedicated to my wife, Cheryl, who lost both her brother and her father in May of 2014.
In the midst of a season of misery, have you ever questioned whether God cares about your suffering? It can be one of the most painful experiences a Christ-follower can endure. Not only are you dealing with the searing pain of your trial, you also find yourself wondering whether God is paying attention.
On some intellectual level, you may believe that God cares about your pain. But, you may also struggle to experience God’s compassion for you at a deeper level. David questioned whether God cared about his suffering when he said to God, “Why have you forgotten me?” in Psalm 42:9.
When we lose the sense that God cares about our suffering, perhaps we would do well to open wider the shutters of our suffering heart and look upon the spiritual landscape of our daily lives for signs of God’s compassion.
In the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John, we have the privilege of seeing how Jesus relates to our suffering. We find Martha and Mary in the midst of the profound pain of losing their brother, Lazarus. Scripture tells us that Jesus was “once more deeply moved” (verse 38) by the suffering he encountered in the lives of his dear friends. He is “once more” deeply moved because he was deeply moved in verse 33 (in response to the weeping of Mary and her friends), in verse 35 (when he wept over Lazarus), and in verse 36 (by how much he loved Lazarus).
Those four words from this narrative about Jesus, who is the revelation of the Father (see John 14:9), tell us a great deal about how God relates to our suffering. He is “once more deeply moved.” He is once more deeply moved every time he ministers to us in the midst of our pain.
When we lose the sense that God cares about our suffering, perhaps we would do well to open wider the shutters of our suffering heart and look upon the spiritual landscape of our daily lives for signs of God’s compassion. Perhaps we will experience God being once more deeply moved in His still, small, consoling voice in the midst of our pleading prayers, in the tender touch of someone’s hand, in the thoughtful card that comes in the mail, in the comfort of God’s compassionate words in Scripture, in the caring voice of one who says, “I’m so sorry you are going through this,” or in the love-in-action displayed by people who want to help us through our trial. May God give us eyes to see and ears to hear: He is once more deeply moved by our suffering.