For the last 18 months or so, I’ve been speaking at churches and conferences on the topic of seeking Jesus in a noisy world. At these events and on my podcast, Little Things, I often mention that I read my Bible with a journal these days. As I read, I jot down notes from commentaries. I ask questions. I look at my life and examine how I am applying the passages I’m studying or how far I am from doing so. It’s a way for me to marinate in the Word and let it seep into me in ways it wasn’t before.

This week I was reading in Luke chapter 13 and came to verse 34. It says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”

If you’ve been a lifelong churchgoer, this is probably a familiar passage. Matthew recorded that Jesus said those words on Tuesday of Passion week, just three days before he died. Jerusalem was not only a hotspot for the Jewish leadership that opposed Jesus, but it was also one of the homes of King Herod. Luke reported that Jesus said these words after some Pharisees warned him to leave because Herod wanted to kill Jesus.

In response, Jesus lamented that the people in Jerusalem had not welcomed him or allowed him to change their spiritual lives and eternal destination.

That made me start to think. What might Jesus say to me?

“Amber, Amber, how often I have longed to tell you your worth, but you looked to them and not me.”

“How often I have longed to tell you that you could, but you listened to your own insecurities instead.”

“How often I have longed to show you the way out, but you were looking the wrong way.”

“How often I have longed to slap that phone out of your hand and tell you I am all you need.”

What about you? If Jesus was in front of you right now, what would he say to you? What would his lament sound like?

Whatever that lament is—and I hope you take the time to think about it—you don’t have to stay stuck, and you don’t have to keep looking within yourself or to Google or to a documentary for the answers to your questions or problems. You don’t have to keep fretting about the latest political news or worry that the earth is falling off its axis.

Going to yourself or the world fills you with empty promises that things will get better and that you can look to yourself for change. Eventually those things come up woefully short. The peace you and I long for, the guidance we need, the encouragement to keep going is found not in us or the world but in the Word and in community with God’s people.

It’s found when we take the Word seriously, examine it, and apply it. It’s about not just reading or listening to the Word only to walk away to the same habits that keep us in the same ruts. When we do life with other mature Christians, they will remind us that God is in control and working in ways we can’t see. They will help us plant our faith so deeply in him that we are unshakable in the worst of storms.

Perhaps the greatest advantage to being in the Word is going back to God after the world or our own insecurities beat us up to find God’s love isn’t fleeting. It’s easy to see our failures and the way things aren’t what we hoped. But God’s Word is like a constant cheerleader, reminding us we aren’t too damaged and haven’t wandered too far from God’s grace.

Jesus may lament that we get it wrong more often than we should, but only to make us stop long enough to get our attention off of us, away from the world, and back to him. Over and over his Word reminds us of our worth, our mission, and his love. We get to know the character of Jesus, and that’s when we know that after he cringes in lament, he’s sure to add encouragement like:

“I covered that. You’re forgiven. Move on.”

“I know you’re trying, and I know it’s hard. Don’t give up.”

“They don’t understand, but I do.”

“I love that about you. “

“I saw that. It was amazing. Don’t ever stop doing that.”

Those are words I like to hear. You too?