INTRO: I wrote this poem following the death of my nephew as a young adult by suicide. I witnessed the agonizing pain and unanswered questions that my brother, his wife and their family had to process over the following years. The overwhelming guilt and shame that follows a suicide are horrific, on top of the grief of the loss itself. Although I knew this poem was inadequate to comfort them, I needed to research and write about God and Jesus’ pain. Beverley Joy.
PODCAST – God Knows Firsthand Your Pain
When Jesus saw Mary and Martha cry
At the death of their brother, Lazarus
Jesus cried.
He was upset and deeply troubled
Lazarus was a close dear friend of His
Those looking on could see
How much Jesus loved him.
When Jesus was told that his cousin
John the Baptist had been murdered
He crossed the Lake to go to a place
Where he could be alone…
Jesus knew the death he would face
He agonized through the sweat of blood
Alone he prayed in the garden that night
His friends did not understand why.
Jesus was beaten so badly
He could not carry his cross
Women watched, sad and crying
They felt such sorry for him.
Jesus saw his mother and brothers
Standing by his cross as he died
Relatives and friends and Mary Magdalene
And His followers he loved very much.
God knows first-hand your pain
He watched his only Son
Die a painful cruel death
As his murderers mocked and whipped him.
They both endured such pain
As Jesus died, an innocent man
To fulfil God’s promise that through faith
Every tear He will soon wipe away.
When the friends of Jesus saw a man
Blind since birth they asked
“Jesus, why was this man born blind?
Whose sin caused his suffering?”
“Was it his fault or that of his parents?”
“T’was neither” replied Jesus
“Not the sin of this man or his parents
That caused his suffering.”
Jesus said “I have told you these things
So that in me you may have peace
In this world, you will have trouble
But take heart, I’ve overcome it.”
“My grace is all you need
Have faith and believe
For only when you trust in me
Is my strength in you, complete.”
Beverley Joy © 2014 of Simply Story Poetry. All Rights Reserved.
Be comforted by my poem God Says ‘Leave them With Me’
You can listen to all my poems on several podcast platforms here
References: Matthew Henry’s Commentary of the Whole Bible 1960 Marshall, Morgan & Scott
John 9:1-3 John 11:33-36 John 19:25-26 Mat 14:12-13
John 16:33 Luke 23:26-27 1 Cor 12:9 Eph 6:18
Simply Story Poetry 
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