Hello Sweet friends,
Today’s Reading … Luke 16-18:14, John 11, Matthew 19-21 and Mark 10
We are right in the middle of our theme, “Christ: God’s Greatest Gift.” However, in today’s reading I feel like we have a glimpse backwards into several of our past themes, beginning with “Facing Adversity.” In the death of Lazarus, Mary and Martha model for us a wonderful example of how to point others to Jesus in our grief.
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer where He was” (John 11:5-6).
Hmmm…. this story begins like much of our adversity begins-with confusion. If Jesus loved them, why would He not go immediately to their side upon hearing the news that Lazarus was sick? Jesus could have eliminated the pain ahead of them, and yet, He stayed where He was for two days. When adversity comes into my life and I feel as though Jesus is not acting quickly enough, or in the way that I would prefer Him to act, I become discouraged and frustrated. This story reminds me that His ways are not my ways. Jesus does not call me to understand, He calls me to trust. Remember that first theme? “Trust Me.” God calls us to trust Him and proves Himself to be trustworthy, every time… in His perfect time.
“So Jesus then said it to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him’” (John 11:14-15).
Well… that did not make this easier to understand. We were called to trust God and now the adversity, the pain only seems deeper. Now what? “Don’t Give Up.” Jesus sees the situation. Jesus has control of the situation. We were promised tribulation in this life, it is not a surprise. More importantly, we were promised ultimate victory through Christ. And so we don’t give up; in the pain, in the dark, we don’t give up on God because we know that He will never give up on us. Victory, healing and redemption are coming.
“Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 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 11:31-32).
If God is allowing adversity in your life, He is trusting you with the opportunity to be His witness to those watching. Mary wept, she grieved, she questioned Jesus. But ultimately, she trusted Him and she did not give up. Everyone watching Mary saw this powerful witness of faith in her Lord and Savior. God wants us to feel all the emotions in our adversity. Most importantly, He wants us to bring those emotions to him. He will sustain us and we will have the unexpected blessing of being His witness even in our pain.
“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled and said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see’” (John 11:33-34).
I love this verse. Jesus not only sees our pain, He enters into it with us. The next time you are at the end of yourself, on your knees, weeping and broken hearted, be comforted that Jesus is right there, weeping with you. He loves you and shares every tear you cry, you are never alone in your pain.
“Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him” (John 11:45).
There it is. Beauty for ashes, purpose in our pain. Through this adversity, many came to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus was perfect in His timing, in His methods and in His faithfulness. He always will be.
I purposely did not include the verses about Lazarus being raised form the dead. While this is amazing, I did not want to distract from this important message:
It is not how Jesus chooses to resolve our adversity that matters, it is simply that He promises to do so… “for our good and for His glory.” We are not called to understand. We are called to trust the One who is always trustworthy. He will be victorious, every time, in His perfect time and in His perfect ways. We can rest in the freedom of not being in control. We are simply called to trust, and to keep going as we live our lives for Christ, God’s greatest gift.
Love to you all,
Kinsee
“so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return empty, but accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”(Isaiah 55:11).
