You are tired. You’ve prayed and prayed and don’t see any change. You have begged God to change your circumstances. And you aren’t seeing any progress. And, so, what does the enemy do? He begins to cause you to question God’s love for you. He begins to place seeds of doubt in your mind. He says things like, “If God really cared about you, He would have healed your parent by now.” “If God really loved you, He would have opened that door for the job you have been praying for.” “If God really cared, He would have saved your child by now.” And the dialogue goes on and on, with a variety of “if God really loved you” statements.
But God does love you. Sometimes His waiting is for our benefit. Sometimes His delay is for our good.
We know it from the evidence we can see in our lives, but we also know it because of testimony in Scripture.
Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were three people that Jesus cared for. He had spent time with them and often stayed with them during his journey.
“A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. This is the Marywho later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus, telling him, ‘Lord, your dear friend is very sick.’ But when Jesus heard about it he said, ‘Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.’ So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days.” John 11:1-6
Jesus loved them.
He loved Mary. He loved Martha. He loved Lazarus.
Yet He waited.
Two days He waited.
His delay was not from a lack of love, but for a specific purpose. Jesus was delaying, so that the Son of God would receive glory from this situation. God’s timing is not our timing.
“Finally, he said to his disciples, “let’s go back to Judea.” John 11:7
When He got back to Judea He was met by a distraught Martha. She came to him and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:21
When Mary arrived, she said the same thing. “When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.’” John 11:32
He deeply cares for you. When He saw Mary and Martha and the others mourning, He felt it too. “Jesus wept.” John 11:35
While you are waiting, don’t doubt His love. He loves you.
“Then Jesus shouted, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ And the dead man came out…” John 11:43-44
Just because two days is now feeling like two years or two decades, His delay is not a lack of love. Your “Finally” is coming.
This blog was written by Amy Carrico: Author of Making Moments Matter Blog
Last Updated on September 15, 2024
I taught this same story in our SS lesson yesterday. Thank you for sharing this today. It’s powerful
Just what I needed to be reminded of today. Thank you!