Faith and sadness: you don't have to pretend
Jonathan Avila reminds us that Martha spoke with Jesus from her pain and that faith doesn't require hiding questions.
Martha didn't dry her tears before speaking with Jesus. Jonathan Avila points this out in his devotional: you don't have to pretend you're okay or hide your questions from God.
A faith that doesn't demand calm faces
The devotional is titled "Having faith doesn't mean you stop feeling sadness," and Avila sums it up like this: "You can trust Jesus and, at the same time, be going through a difficult moment."
Martha goes out to meet Jesus with her pain out front: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21, ESV). It's not a pretty greeting-card phrase; it's a complaint spoken in faith. Jesus doesn't rebuke her. Minutes later, he also weeps: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35, ESV).
«Faith doesn't deny pain: it brings it to Jesus, just as it is.»
What convinces me most about Avila's devotional is that it doesn't spiritualize sadness or treat it as an enemy of faith. In practice, many young people learn the opposite: at church you smile, on social media you post the best version of the week, and questions are saved for later. That "later" sometimes never comes.
I wonder how many times we've confused spiritual maturity with enduring in silence. Faith doesn't deny pain: it brings it to Jesus, just as it is.
Sadness is not a diagnosis
Here I would nuance something. Sadness has concrete causes: a loss, a move, debts, insomnia, loneliness, changes in the body. None of them is solved with a quickly read verse.
Praying is good and necessary, and it doesn't replace a doctor or a psychologist. See Psalm 34:18: God draws near to the brokenhearted, and many times he does so through human hands, including those of a professional. Faith and science don't compete here: God is Lord of what happens in your body and in your emotions.
I also don't hand out labels. Not everyone who is sad has sinned, and not everyone who smiles is okay. Seeking help isn't a lack of faith: it's caring for the life God gave you. Telling how you are isn't complaining either; it's letting others carry the load with you (see James 5:16).
One step for today
I'll stick with the essential: sadness is not a lack of faith. If today it's hard to lift your face, you don't have to fix it before praying. Tell someone you trust today how you really are, without an edited summary and without "all good." If your mood doesn't improve in weeks, or if thoughts of harming yourself appear, talk to a trusted adult, your pastor, or a health professional; in an emergency, go to your country's emergency services.
Martha didn't wait to be better to speak. Who would you talk to today if you knew they wouldn't judge you?
