“Lord, if only you had been here . . .”

Lazarus was dead. And when his sister Martha heard that Jesus was on His way, she went out to meet Him and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21 NLT).

In other words, “Lord, where were You? Lord, we were telling everyone that You would come through for us.”

Maybe you’ve said something like that to God. “Lord, where were you when my marriage dissolved?” “Lord, where were You when my parents divorced?” “Where were You when my child went astray?” “Where were You when my loved one died?”

Martha was very outspoken. She was always one to speak her mind. But notice that Jesus didn’t reprove her. Actually, He was very understanding and patient with her.

Like Martha, we can be honest with God. It isn’t a bad thing to tell Him how we feel. For example, we can say, “Lord I don’t like the way things are going right now, and I don’t understand why You’re doing what you’re doing. But I’m crying out to You, Lord, because I have nowhere else to go.”

When Jesus asked the disciples, “Do you also want to go away?” (John 6:67 NKJV), Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (verse 68 NKJV).

Loosely paraphrased, Peter was saying, “Lord, You’re the only game in town”

It’s okay to pour out your heart to the Lord. Yet sometimes people say they’re mad at God and aren’t talking to Him anymore. They’re not going to church, and they’re not reading the Bible.

That is foolish. We need to come to the Lord and cry out to Him. Be honest. At the same time, understand that He is in control. There is nothing wrong with asking why. Just don’t expect an answer.

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