Waking the Dead

I was reading a story in the bible the other day that really spoke to me about how God chooses to work and intervene in the trials and situations in our lives. It is easy us to find ourselves in moments of desperation really wondering what God is up to, and why He hasn’t intervened to change our situation. Sometimes its sickness, sometimes its finances, and sometimes its relationships, or whatever the circumstances may be. We face things and cry out to God to act on our behalf and it appears nothing is changing. Why?

God really spoke to me as I was reading John 11 and the story of Lazarus. Lazarus became very ill, and his sisters sent for Jesus, asking that He would come and heal Lazarus. Lazarus and Jesus were friends, however when Jesus heard the news of Lazarus’ illness he stayed where he was for several more days. Jesus had the power to heal, but he remained where he was while Lazarus remained sick.

When Jesus finally made the trip to Lazarus, upon arriving his sisters Mary and Martha told him that Lazarus was dead. The sisters cried out to Jesus saying “Lord, if you had be here, my brother would not have died.” They knew that Jesus had the power to heal Lazarus from his sickness; they knew that Jesus’ intervention would have meant healing.

Instead Jesus decided to wait. But the story did not end there. They story ended beautifully as Jesus shouted into the tomb, “Lazarus, come out!”. And out he came, certainly to the awe and amazement of the people around him. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

So why did Jesus wait? Why didn’t he save them of the heartache and pain that they felt? Jesus answered this question; it was this way so that they could “see the Glory of God.” Jesus’ miraculous intervention of raising Lazarus from the dead revealed God’s glory and power. The story ends in saying that many people who saw what Jesus did put their faith in Him

We may be in a situation right now that we are asking God where He is. We want to know why the situation isn’t changing, or why things are staying as they are. We should ask for God’s intervention in our situations, and pray for our deliverance. However we shouldn’t become discouraged when things don’t happen how or when we expect them to happen. We don’t always know what He is up to, but rest assured that His plan is always accomplished.

Remember the words of Christ today as he spoke, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”