Dear Explorer,
Read John 11:1-16
If you look at John 11:4 and then John 11:14 they seem to contradict each other. First Jesus says this sickness will not lead to death and then two days later announces, apparently without having received a second messenger, that Lazarus is dead.
By the end of the chapter you'll discover that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead making both verses absolutely true.
Like a good story plot, our lives are constantly unfolding. We can't always see how things will turn out, but God knows. How often we mis-judge God because we haven't seen the end results. How easy it is to yell, "It's not fair." We see only the broken, mangled pieces of our lives and we cry because it seems so un-fixable. Jesus knew the end of this scene. He knew that there would be great rejoicing in only a few more hours.
Are you willing to trust God to pick up the scattered pieces of your life and make them into a beautiful story?
Look at John 11:6 very carefully. Is that what you would expect from Jesus if you sent him an urgent message?
How about when we pray an urgent prayer?
I have met so many people who have decided to not follow Jesus because they prayed for something specific and God didn't do what they wanted, when they wanted it. That's very sad. Don't you think God is smart enough to know when we don't really trust Him?
When you pray, you should watch to see what happens. What happens next is generally God's answer. It may not be what you asked for – but it is an answer.
When we place our requests before God, we need to recognize that they are simply that, a request. God is not our slave that must obey our bidding. He says we can simply ask in faith and He will respond. But we need to understand that He always responds with what is absolutely best for all involved. And WE are not wise enough to understand His response all the time.
Lazarus was sick. His sisters thought they knew what Jesus should do. But He did something different. Do you think it was hard for them to trust Him?
I'm sure it was. Let's see what happened!
Read John 11:17-32
We see Mary and Martha surrounded by many comforters and mourners. When Jesus was approaching the house, other travelers told Martha that He was on His way. She went out to meet Him. What was her statement of faith to Him?
When Mary arrived, what was her statement of faith to Jesus?
These two sisters had faith in Jesus. They believed He could have prevented their brother's death. They believed He was the Messiah and they would all be together in Heaven. But Jesus wanted to stretch their faith a little further.
When our kids were preschoolers our house burned down. We were people of faith and knew that God would help us to get through it, but what we didn't know is that He would teach us so much more about His provision and sufficiency for His kids. You see, we were pretty poor, and we were praying that God would help us to stretch the money so that I could continue to stay home with the kids.
After the fire, God's people gave us clothing, furniture, toys, everything that we needed in such abundance that we had to give a lot of it away. Our eyes were opened to an amazing God who took care of our every need and even some of our secret wishes (like a mahogany bedroom set that I never dreamed I would own and a particular wool skirt that I had seen at a store and couldn't afford). God was so generous to us through His people that it was ridiculous.
There was a woman whose husband had died, and she hadn't cleaned out his closet yet. A friend of ours told her that she thought the clothes might fit David. They cleaned out the closet and brought it to our house. Now, this man had been a very wealthy Jewish businessman. He traveled all over the world and had his shirts and pants custom tailored in China. Yet, when David tried them on, they fit him perfectly – exact size, exact sleeve length, exact pants length. We didn't have to alter anything. But we did have to give quite a few things away – because he didn't need 75 dress shirts, 12 London Fog Overcoats or 15 3-piece-suits. So, he picked out his favorites and gave the rest away. Not only did she send the clothing, but she also included belts, ties, handkerchiefs, etc. God is so good!
Our faith grew and we learned a new dimension of God's provision.
Our prayer had been for God to stretch our income to cover our expenses. Letting our house burn was not the answer we expected to say the least! But it was the answer we needed.
Can you think of a time when God answered a prayer in a way you didn't expect?