Have you ever pleaded in prayer for God to show up in your circumstances, only to see your circumstances spiral into even greater destruction?
Perhaps your loved one died.
Your marriage imploded.
Your bank account was drained.
Your child went rogue.
Your husband was let go from his company.
I found great comfort in John 11 this week. You can read the whole story at John 11:1-44, but I’ll give you the cliff notes here.
Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus was dying so they sent word to Jesus.
“When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” ~ John 11:4-6
Jesus LOVED them … SO he stayed where He was two more days. Would it not make more sense for love to drive Jesus there immediately to uhm … fix … everything? No, that’s how I love, but that’s not His love. His love is greater than mine. His love waited.
To be clear, Jesus is never late. He is never delayed. Nothing can stop Him from completing His plan and purpose, on time. But from our human perspective, it sure can seem like He didn’t show up in our time of need. It’s easy to get discouraged when we don’t see the answers we want. We simply don’t see things as He does. Isaiah 55:9 tells us,
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
So.. Jesus waits, and Lazarus dies.
If Jesus had shown up and healed Lazarus, that blessing would’ve been a temporary blessing. Lazarus would, and did, still die. Jesus had a greater, more glorious plan. He would defeat death, and bring resurrected life that is eternal for those who believe. He would stretch the sisters’ faith, and let others see His power over the grave so that they would also believe in Him.
But don’t miss John 11:35 which says,
“Jesus wept.”
I don’t know about you but that sure encourages me. Jesus didn’t weep because Lazarus was dead. He was going to raise him. Jesus wept with his heart full of compassion because He saw the devastation that sin had brought to our world, the brokenness, the destruction, the sadness. He was with us in the struggle. He weeps for us and with us.
Then .. He conquered it all by proving He is the Resurrection and the Life for all who would believe. He raised Lazarus from the grave.
We are all bound by sin, dead. But by His work on the Cross and His own resurrection, Jesus defeats death.
Hope was not late, hope was on the way. The delay was simply an opportunity to believe and for faith to grow.
I have pleaded with Jesus to intervene in my circumstances before they turned fatal, disastrous, hopeless. He waited… not days, but years before He showed up. Because … He loves me and has a much greater miracle in mind than my original pleadings would’ve brought.
“When I am dealing with an all-powerful, all-knowing God, I, as a mere mortal, must offer my petitions not only with persistence but also with patience. Someday, I’ll know why.” ~ Ruth Graham Bell
I often wish, God had shown up in the Garden and kept Adam and Eve from choosing sin over His ways … bringing such heartache and destruction to our world. Despite God having to rescue us over and over again to try to keep us from sinning … (talk about helicopter parenting!) … we would’ve missed the beautiful love story poured out at the Cross. He didn’t just keep us from sinning, He forever paid the price and made a way for us to experience righteousness, security, redemption, mercy, forgiveness, eternal life … to name a few.
In our waiting … when we think He’s late, we can wait with hearts anchored in hope, and certain that it is love that keeps Him from rushing in and fixing things. He’s got something much better planned, an eternally significant plan, and someday, when we see things as He does, we will be so glad that He waited.
