God’s Love & Our Suffering: Lessons From Lazarus

When I was 22, my mom was diagnosed with an aggressive stage 4 breast cancer, and a year later, after a roller coaster of treatments and surgeries, she died. Although I knew cancer had the potential to take her life, the timing was absolutely shocking. As I held her cold hand, I remember praying “Lord, I know that You are good and I know that You love me, but I don’t understand what You’re doing here.” In that moment, I wasn’t looking for a theological explanation, but rather asking the question that suffering always asks: If God loves me, why did He let this happen?

It’s a question nearly every Jesus-follower wrestles with eventually. Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “It was God’s will,” or “Everything happens for a reason,” after a tragedy. While they may have been trying to express trust in God’s sovereignty, His rule over all things, those words can land like salt in an open wound. So, rather than starting with what we can or can’t explain, let’s begin with two truths Scripture asks us to hold together:

TRUE: God loves you.

Not theoretically, or just sentimentally. Before you could do anything to earn it, God sent His perfect Son, Jesus, to the cross where He gave His life for yours (Romans 5:8).

ALSO TRUE: You will suffer. Not because God stopped loving you, but because His creation, although perfectly designed, has been fractured by sin. Everything from the smallest cells to the largest weather systems do not behave as God originally intended. (John 16:33, Romans 8:20-22)

God’s love does not exempt us from suffering, but it does assure us that suffering is never the end of our story.

John 11 recounts the death of Jesus’ dear friend, Lazarus. Although Jesus knows Lazarus is gravely ill, He intentionally delays His arrival until after Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. If you’ve been around Bible study, you know Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the dead. But before He does, I want you to see how He comforts Lazarus’ two grieving sisters differently.

MARTHA
We know from Luke 10 that Martha is practical, proactive and task-oriented. Let’s look at Jesus’ response to her in John 11:21-27: Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 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. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Jesus meets Martha with truth, and this theological discourse about salvation brings her great comfort and an anchor in light of her confusing circumstances.

MARY
We know from that same passage in Luke 10 that Mary is relational, reflective and emotionally expressive. Jesus’ care for her grief in John 11:32-35 is quite different: Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.

Jesus meets Mary with presence. He doesn’t lecture her about why she shouldn’t feel sad, but Jesus enters into her sorrow and genuinely weeps with her.

In their vastly different responses to suffering, Jesus rebukes neither woman. Instead, He perfectly discerns their hearts and meets them right where they are with exactly what they need in the moment. Jesus knew resurrection was only moments away, yet He still chose to enter into the grief of those He loved. So what about us? How can we care for suffering people the way Jesus does?

Too often, our first instinct is to assign reasons to someone’s pain. We reach for answers when what people usually need first is compassion. Even if we can explain why God allows suffering, we can’t reason our way through grief. Instead, we can anchor our hope in God’s character. We might say:

“I don’t know why this happened, but I know God hasn’t abandoned you.”
“I don’t understand this either, but I know Jesus is with you in it.”
“I don’t know what God is doing in this circumstance, but I know what He is like.”

Looking back, I still don’t understand why my mom died at 51. I don’t know why the miracle I prayed for didn’t happen the way I wanted it to. But I know something today that I only believed by faith then: God’s love for me is not measured by the amount of suffering I experience, but by what Jesus willingly endured for me on the cross. The same Jesus who stood outside Lazarus’ tomb weeping would eventually be placed in His own tomb, and then three days later, walk back out again. That doesn’t answer every “why,” but His resurrection does mean that the worst thing is never the last thing.

– Ashley Whitaker | Care Ministry Assistant

Tilling The Inner Soil

You can buy the best seeds at the garden center, but if your soil is like a parking lot, nothing is going to happen.

Spring is here, flowers are blooming, and leaves are emerging from tree branches. Home improvement stores are filled with shiny tools and trays of young plants waiting for new gardens. In this season of renewal, the urge to plant something new (or try again after last year’s failures) is very real. It’s easy to get excited about the potential for beautiful landscaping or fresh-grown vegetables, but without healthy soil, our investment will be in vain.

The Bible uses many gardening or farming word pictures to help show us what life in relationship with God through Jesus is all about. In the Parable of the Sower – Matthew 13:1-9 – the seed is always perfect. Jesus tells us later in Matthew 13:19 that it represents the Word of God. The variable is the dirt.

Jesus describes 4 types of soil, each representing a different type of person.

Path Soil (The Closed Heart) – those who hear the message of how to live in right relationship with God through Jesus, but who can’t understand it because of the hardness of their heart.
Rocky Soil (The Shallow Heart) – those who hear and receive it joyfully but who don’t put down deep roots, lack resiliency, and quickly fall away under pressure.
Thorny Soil (The Distracted Heart) – those who hear the word but become overwhelmed and stunted in growth due to competing desires and worries of the world.
Good Soil (The Integrated Heart) – those who hear and understand the far-reaching impacts of this message for their life, leading to fruitful living and a meaningful relationship with God.

It might be tempting to look at the list and think we are definitely “good soil” people. The reality is, however, we all slide between the different categories at different times and in different ways. For example, we might have experienced a period of good soil growth and fruitfulness, but choosing to take on a promotion at work results in becoming overwhelmed with new responsibilities and less time devoted to growing in community with other Christ-followers. Or, we might spend a season “on fire” attending church services, but when someone close to us complains about us choosing church over a family event, we gradually start to make different priorities.

The good news is the Bible tells us that when we realize we’ve drifted from being good soil, confess our sin to God and turn back to him, he will heal our hearts.

Spring is the perfect season to “till the soil” of our hearts:

Identify the Barriers: What are the “rocks” (limitations to growth) or “thorns” (anxieties and distractions) currently choking your spiritual life?
Seek Renewal: Honestly confess these struggles to God, asking Him to restore and soften your heart.
Step Forward: Embrace the renewal He provides, moving into a new season of fruitful service and healthy growth.

– Caleb Hodson | Adult Discipleship Senior Director

Purpose in Pain: A Good Friday Reflection

A highlight for me over the past few months has been my weekly Bible study. We’ve been looking at the lives of key people in Genesis and seeing how they fit into the bigger story of the Bible. As we finished the book of Genesis last week, I was struck again by Joseph’s life. His story shows us how God has a plan even in the middle of our suffering. You can find all the details of his life in Genesis 37-50.

Joseph’s own brothers sold him into slavery. But by God’s hand, Joseph rose from being a slave to becoming a leader in Egypt. God used him to save many people from a terrible famine. After this rescue, the family was brought back together. But when their father Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers feared retribution for what they had done. But instead, Joseph showed his brothers grace, recognizing God’s plans and purposes in the pain they caused.

Genesis 50:19-21 records Joseph’s response:

But Joseph said to them [his brothers], “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Joseph spoke these words to the very brothers who had sold him for 20 pieces of silver. These were the same brothers who lied to their father and claimed a wild animal had killed Joseph. Their actions led to years of pain for Joseph. He was forced to live in a foreign land, falsely accused of a crime, and thrown into prison. During those hard years, Joseph likely asked, “Why, God?” He had no idea how his situation could ever be used for good.

Eventually, Joseph saw the truth. He realized that God had arranged the events of his life—including his pain—to save many people. Joseph’s story points forward to an even greater rescue. It points to a greater member of Jacob’s line through whom the whole world would be blessed: Jesus.

Wicked men falsely accused Jesus and beat him. They executed him like a criminal. But even through this, Jesus was carrying out God’s plan to rescue us—a plan made before the world even began. It looked like the people who wanted to harm Jesus had won, but God was up to something else: the saving of many lives. Through his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus saves us from something far worse than hunger or physical death. He saves those who believe in Him from sin and judgment, giving them eternal life.

On Good Friday, Jesus’ followers felt defeated. They didn’t fully understand His sacrifice until He rose from the dead three days later. Maybe you feel like Joseph in his suffering, or like the disciples in their sorrow. Maybe you feel like God is far away. In those times of confusion, we can still trust the same God Joseph trusted—the God who went to the cross to die for our sins. He is the God who rose from the dead, proving He has the power to defeat death so that we can live.

Resurrection Sunday is coming!

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die…” (John 14:25)

– Sarah Purdy | Adult Discipleship Associate Director

Who Is Your Master?

That question unsettles us because it forces us to think about the realities of slavery, both long ago and still existing today. And more personally, we like to believe it doesn’t apply because we want to believe we’re independent. But in his Epistle to the Romans, Paul confronts modern thinking head-on: everyone serves a master.

He writes, “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin” (Romans 6:6–7).

Before trusting Christ, sin is not just something we occasionally commit. It is a ruling power in our lives. Jesus makes this even clearer in John 8:34: “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”

Slavery means we cannot free ourselves. We may feel autonomous, but sin quietly shapes our desires, habits, and priorities.

For me, this truth is personal.

When I was about five years old, I was sexually abused by a family friend. That trauma planted seeds of self-hatred, patterns of overeating, and eventually pornography use. I grew up in a home where Jesus was preached, and I loved Him deeply, but I hated myself and the things I did.

The addiction followed me into young adulthood and even into my marriage. I thought getting married would fix it. It didn’t. My struggle hurt my wife, though I’m so grateful for her prayers and patience. I kept asking, “Lord, why do I still struggle if You are working in me?”

The enemy whispered, “You’re not saved. You’re still a slave to sin.” So I hid. Just like Adam and Eve in the garden, shame pushed me into isolation. In the ancient world, slaves might wander, but they always had to return to their master’s house. I believed that was my story, that no matter how far I tried to go away from sin by my own strength, I would always return to it.

But everything began to shift when I finally confessed my struggle to a close friend. He pointed me back to Romans 6:11–14: “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus… For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Sin was no longer my master.

Through my belief in Christ’s death and resurrection and my commitment of surrender to Jesus as my master, there has been a transfer of ownership. “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18).

This isn’t a loss of freedom. It’s the recovery of our true identity. We were made to live under God’s loving authority. Romans 6:23 says it plainly: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sin pays wages; it gives exactly what it promises: death. But God gives a gift, life. Jesus said, “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10).”

So the question remains: Who is your master – Sin or Christ?

If you find yourself identifying with the struggle of returning to an old master, know that you were never meant to walk the path to freedom alone. Connect intentionally with others in our church family to build relationships where you can share your battles. Head to blackrock.org/groups to get started.

Living Isaiah 61 is an online group for men specifically battling the weight of pornography use, offered through Living Free. This is a safe, confidential space designed to help you break the cycle of isolation and walk through the practical steps to freedom that Christ has already won for you.

– Rich Castillo | Communications Manager

Got Questions?

In 1994, the electronics company RadioShack launched an iconic ad campaign around the phrase “You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.” Touting excellent customer service of employees to help customers navigate their technology woes, the goal was to set RadioShack apart from competitors with its knowledgeable staff. In 1994, it would have been hard to imagine that just a few years later, Google and YouTube “how-to” videos would soon make their promise seem irrelevant. While these modern information tools can be lifesavers for troubleshooting computer problems, they are not always trustworthy for deeper spiritual questions, and certainly not personal.

Part of being made in the image of God is having real emotions and having the ability to think and reason. We want to know things. Hunger for knowledge is evident in young children who often ask incessant questions about anything and everything. A co-worker and I were swapping stories about some questions our kids have asked: Why does God let sad things happen? Did other people have boats in Noah’s day? Does God hear my prayers?

Somewhere along the line, many of us learn to stop asking. Insecurity causes us to fear that asking will reveal what we don’t know, or that having certain questions might make us look “unspiritual.” Maybe our questions were not taken seriously in the past. At Black Rock, we want to be a place where people are unafraid to ask questions and learn where to find the answers. Rather than promising, like RadioShack, to answer every question with our own knowledge, an appropriate tweak to the slogan would be: You’ve got questions, the Bible has answers. And we’d like to help you find them.

In 2026, we’ll address some of the big questions through a sermon series called, Why, God? Pastor Josh will unpack what the Bible says about various questions and their relevance to our lives. Additionally, we are launching a monthly blog called BRC Reflections, where various Black Rock staff members will write about topics or pressing questions through a biblical lens. Rather than impersonal AI-generated responses, you’ll hear from those who care for you and want to help you grow in your knowledge and love of God.

Before we get started with our first topic next month, we’d love to hear from YOU! Use the form link below to submit an anonymous question or topic you’d like to hear from our staff about. Stay tuned for upcoming posts to see if your question is answered.

Click here to submit questions or topics you’d like to hear about!