In this passage of scripture we learn that Lazarus, Jesus' friend and the brother of Martha and Mary, was sick. When Jesus learned of Lazarus' sickness, He did not immediately go to see about him or heal him, as Martha and Mary had hoped. Lazarus died. Four days after his death and burial, Jesus went to Lazarus' tomb. Jesus called out to Lazarus, who was dead, to "come forth" and he was raised from the dead.
Amazing, right?!
As I was reading that this morning, I thought about how we're often faced with sickness in our lives - whether physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, or psychological. As soon as pain hits us we call out to Jesus, as Mary and Martha did, hoping that He will immediately come to our rescue and heal us on the spot. But, just as in Lazarus' case, He doesn't always rush to deliver us before things get really bad.
Jesus waited until Lazarus died, and had been dead FOUR DAYS before He showed up. It was after the situation couldn't get any worse and seemed a total loss, that Jesus showed forth His mighty power. Lazarus was dead...it can't get any worse than that. Oh, but when Jesus came on the scene He gave life to that which had died. My God!
One of my favorite scripture from this passage is the 4th verse. It says, "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.” This is what I want to use to encourage you today.
Your sickness; your pain; your marriage; your debt; your depression; your sorrow; your struggle...will not end in death. It may be at its worse, and it seems like there's no chance of resuscitation. You may be wondering why the Lord hasn't come to your rescue yet, and you feel that if He had come when you first prayed about it, things wouldn't have gotten so bad. It looks dead. It feels dead. But guess what? There's still hope. Jesus is coming to speak life to your dead situation, He's going to cause you to come forth, and the Lord will be glorified.
The resurrecting power of Jesus Christ will manifest in you, and everyone will know that nobody but the Son of God could do such a miraculous thing. Glory to God!
As we commemorate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, let it serve as the assurance that even when it appears that enemy has won, the power of Christ will always prevail. Just as Jesus raised Lazarus, and as He rose from the grave, so will He raise you.
Til next time...
May you live in His love.
An on-time word. The funny thing is, I was busy trying to click on another article, but this one ended up on my screen. God always knows what we need. :)
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