Apparently tacos, pizza and chickens can learn from hamburgers. Today's Wall Street Journal reports that Yum Brands Inc., parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, will emulate rival McDonald's Corp. in an effort to revive sales at its U.S. restaurants. Taco Bell will add breakfast and coffee to its menu. Pizza Hut will deliver a new line of pastas. KFC will bring back roasted chicken. It's all in an effort to give us what we want, the first rule of marketing.

God has a different approach: He gives us what we need. Isaiah promised us an "Everlasting Father" at Christmas (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus showed the compassion by which he fulfilled that prophesy when he wept at the grave of Lazarus (John 11:35), grieving for his dear friend and his family, sharing their pain as his own. What is the relevance of Jesus' tears for ours today? Consider these facts.

One: You can expect to hurt, for Jesus did. This is a fallen world. Being spiritual is no exemption, for the perfect Son of God wept. Having enough faith, praying enough, being in the will of God is not enough. Peter was in God's will in the storm on the Sea of Galilee; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo in the fiery furnace; Joseph in the Egyptian jail; Paul in the Philippian prison; John on the Alcatraz called Patmos; Peter on his upside down cross. Don't be surprised when you hurt, for even Jesus wept.

You are not alone. Suffering isolates us--we think no one else feels our pain or knows our grief. If someone would weep for you, they stand with you. And Jesus wept.

Two: You have help. There is Someone you can lean on for strength, wisdom, comfort. In your confusion, he will lead you. In your sorrow, he will hold you. We are his body, his arms. The Bible is his word, written to you. Prayer connects you with him as directly as if you were standing before his throne in heaven. Worship joins your heart with the saints of the ages and the angels of all eternity. If someone would weep for you, they would help you. And Jesus wept.

Three: You will know God better through this pain. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus learned something about Jesus they would never have known except through their grief. They had already seen him heal the sick--now they discovered that he could raise the dead. He is not just a Great Physician, he is the Great God.

Will you ask him to be the God of your greatest need this morning?

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