Drawn to the Gospel

A few years ago in my previous church we did a ‘draw and Bible’ event where people could sketch, draw, or paint, along with a brief devotion from the Bible on art and creativity. I did the devotion as well as the drawing below.

I called it The God Who Weeps With Us.

When I first drew it, I just wanted to capture a moment where words fail, where all that’s left is a holy and aching presence. This is what I believe God offers to the brokenhearted.

Not a Distant Observer

For some of us we think of God as high and lifted up (and He is!). But sometimes that comes with forgetting that He is also close to the brokenhearted. In fact, Isaiah put the two together:

The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: “I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.” (Isaiah 57:15, NLT)

This God, entered into our history in the person of Jesus. You may recall that in John 11, when He arrives at the tomb of His friend Lazarus. It says that Jesus weeps. He is about to raise Lazarus, but He still weep. Why?

Because our pain matters to Him.

Jesus is not just the God who fixes things, He’s the God who feels things with us.

But a Close Comforter

In the drawing I used the lines to depict presence and shared pain. The woman’s lines and Jesus’s lines flow into and out of each other in this moment of untold and unspoken grief.

We have a God who draws near and enters into our deepest distress. And sometimes that’s the most powerful comfort of all: not that the pain and tears are gone, but that we know we are not alone in it.

For Those Who Are Weeping Now

If you are in a season of tears, whether its recent or distant past, you can know this:

• Jesus is holding you, even though you don’t feel like you’re holding it together.
• Jesus is listening to you, even though you are at loss for words and everything you say is an unedited mess.
• Jesus is walking with you, even though you may feel abandoned and alone.

I hope my drawing points you to the greater truth and reality that God does not turn away from your sorrow, not matter how private or public. That’s the place where He meets you.

He weeps with you, holds you, and one day, He will personally wipe away every tear.