In the middle of my ninth-grade year, my family moved from Tomball, TX, to Midland, TX. To put it another way (…pausing to catch my breath…), at fourteen years old and in the middle of my ninth-grade year, I switched high schools, made new friends, learned new plays on a football team, was asked to spit out my gum in the front of my first-period class (it was the wrong class too, ugh!) on the first day of my ninth-grade spring semester, and adapted to taking the trash out to dumpsters in the alley behind our house instead of rolling trash cans to the end of our driveway. To some, moving at the burgeoning of adolescence may not be a challenge, but for me, it was quite an ordeal.
Looking back, I realize God was teaching me something that the gospel of John captures very well in the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.”
John 11:5-6
Lazarus is sick, and Jesus delays coming to his aid before matters worsen. This lag is the opposite of what his loved ones thought should happen. Notice Martha’s response when Jesus was still two miles away from their home, “Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him…Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:20-21).
When Jesus finally arrived, Mary greeted Him in the same way, “Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32).
- Have you ever felt God’s delay was God’s withdrawal, or worse, God’s abandonment?
- Is it possible, in those moments, to let bitterness seep in and create doubt?
Instead of rushing to the aid of Lazarus to keep him from dying, Jesus delays. His delay, however, had a purpose.
“But when Jesus heard this, He said, ‘This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.'”
John 11:4
Christ’s training of His followers meant they had to learn to trust Him–even when they didn’t understand.
How Does This Apply To Us Today?
- God’s delay is not God’s withdrawal.
- A puzzle piece doesn’t make sense by itself; however, when placed with the other puzzle pieces, it forms a beautiful scene that comes together with understanding of how each puzzling circumstance fits into the story of God’s redemptive plan.
- God’s ways are mysterious.
- The Christian journey is wrought with paradoxes. To be weak is to be strong. To be humble is to be exalted. To be low is to be high. The mysterious working of God in history and through humans is God’s means of presenting to His creation His trophies of grace (undeserved favor) in ways that often seem opposite of expectations.
- God’s purpose is for His glory.
- Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and all of Christ’s followers were taught that God’s ultimate purpose is His glory, which occurs when the pinnacle of His creation (mankind) turns to Him in faith.
“When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him” (John 11:43-45).
Would that we all would walk in faith and believe that our God works all things together for good! Amen and Amen!
— September 8, 2022