ReaD John 11:42
Jesus prays these words right before He raises Lazarus from the dead, while He is weeping with the mourners. We recently studied this passage in women’s Bible study, and John 11:5-6 stuck out to me, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.”
Wait. What? Jesus heard Lazarus was sick, so He waited to go to him? At first it seems uncaring, but reading further we see that Lazarus was dead for four days when Jesus arrived. In His omnipotent knowledge, Jesus knew Lazarus was already dead, or would be by the time He (with His human constraints) could get to him. He could have rushed to Lazarus, like our human brains scream he should do, but Jesus was trusting a higher plan. By waiting, there was no question that Lazarus was dead when Jesus arrived —he was even starting to smell! It was an undeniable miracle when Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out!”, and Lazarus started breathing and walked out of the grave. Jesus wept with the grieving, but trusted His father that Lazarus would live again.
Have you been in a season of waiting? I experienced waiting through a season of infertility. It was unexplained, so I was frustrated, hurt, and grieving. I put up walls around the grief and didn’t trust God with it. But after four years, my barriers came down, and I poured my heart out to God. In that season, my husband and I also told other believers of our struggle and asked them to pray over us. During that prayer, I wept, no longer in grief, but in trust. I felt a divine peace, knowing God had a plan and would use my waiting and ultimate surrender for His glory. I’m beyond grateful that He answered the prayer with a yes that very month. God could have given me a child any time in those four years, but the waiting brought me into a deeper relationship with Him, and His timing left no question that He was at work.
Brothers and sisters, I pray that your tears in the waiting would also be tears of trust. As with Lazarus, God may not heal you in the moment, but he will raise you from the dead.
For Reflection:
- How does Jesus’ trust in the Father, even into death, strengthen your trust in Him? How can you trust Jesus in your waiting? How can your trust in Jesus strengthen others’ faith?
By Liz Caldwell
