Blog post adapted from my sermon transcript on Jesus’s “I Am the Resurrection and the Life” statement using AI.
Have you ever felt completely alone in your pain and suffering? Like no one understands what you’re going through? The loneliness and isolation can feel suffocating at times.
I want you to know that you are not alone. There is a community of people who have been where you are. And more importantly, there is a Savior named Jesus who intimately understands your suffering. He promises never to leave or forsake you.
The Weight of Loneliness
In the Gospel of John, we read about two sisters named Mary and Martha who were dealing with overwhelming grief after the death of their brother Lazarus. They sent word to Jesus that the one he loved was ill, surely hoping he would come quickly. But Jesus delayed. By the time he arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days.
Mary and Martha must have felt so alone in their mourning. Where was Jesus, whom they thought of as a friend? Why did he take so long to come? The sting of death was bad enough without feeling abandoned too.
Maybe you can relate to those feelings of isolation and abandonment that Mary and Martha experienced. A loved one gone. Prayers that seem to go unanswered. An all-consuming sadness. You cry out, “God, why have you left me alone in this pit of darkness?”
The Truth of His Presence
But here’s the truth – you are not alone. Not ever. Jesus made an astounding claim to Martha that day at the tomb of Lazarus. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”
Jesus was letting Martha know that He has power over death itself. Death is not the end. And He is intimately present with us, even in our darkest valleys. He does not just observe our suffering from a distance. He weeps with us (John 11:35). He understands our anguish in a profound way.
In fact, Jesus experienced the ultimate loneliness and isolation when he took on the sins of the world. On the cross, he was forsaken by the Father so that we would never have to be separated from God’s love. Jesus became sin itself so that we could be made right with God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He drank the cup of God’s wrath over sin so that we could drink the cup of acceptance as children of God.
Purpose in the Pain
Not only does Jesus intimately experience our suffering with us, He has an eternal purpose for allowing it. The Bible tells us that our present sufferings “are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Our momentary afflictions are “preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Jesus demonstrated this when he intentionally delayed going to Lazarus so that God’s power could be displayed in raising him from the dead. Your pain may seem purposeless now. But Jesus promises that He will use it to accomplish something of eternal significance, if you trust Him. Your suffering is never wasted in His hands.
An Invitation to Belong
Not only do you never have to feel alone in your trials, you are invited into a loving community of people who will weep with you, pray with you, and carry your burdens. Church is not just a building or an organization – it is a spiritual family.
As the sermon said, “You are not to be a Christian out there living the faith alone. You’re part of the body. You need to be reattached with the body…We will take you in if you’re a lone Christian out there looking for family, or even if you’re not even Christian yet, you’re just kind of interested or curious. We’ll welcome you.”
You belong. You are wanted. You are loved, despite your failures and shortcomings. The arms of this spiritual family are open wide to embrace you.
An Eternal Hope
Jesus does not abandon his people to the grave. When he resurrected Lazarus, it foreshadowed His own bodily resurrection three days after his death on a cross. By conquering death, Jesus has secured eternal life for all who put their faith in Him.
“As he declared, “Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:26). Physical death is merely a temporary sleep. For those who put their faith in Jesus as the resurrection and the life, physical death is just a passing from this life into eternal life with Him.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). Our earthly bodies may die, but we will be resurrected into new, imperishable bodies to live forever with Christ. Death is swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54)!
So you see, even when walking through the darkest valley of suffering and death, we never have to fear. We can take comfort that Jesus has triumphed over sin, death, loneliness and pain. By His resurrection, He has secured for us eternal life and the promise to wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). Our suffering now is temporary; eternal joy awaits for those who put their hope in the risen Savior.”
Your Personal Invitiation
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Gerald Faulkner 