Wait for It, Wait for It...

For the past several days now, I have been reading through the story of Lazarus in John 11.  Once again, I feel as though I can relate to the people involved in this famous miracle.  And once more, God has used this account of Jesus' power, displayed at the perfect time, in the perfect way, to remind me that He hasn't changed and still works the same way in my life today.

Jesus has been on a roll, stirring up controversy, making enemies, and saying things that cause the religious leaders to pick up stones to kill Him.  He's also been busy feeding crowds of 5,000+ people, calming storms, forgiving sins, and giving sight to the blind.  To top it all off, He's about to raise a man from the dead!

Just as Jesus let His disciples know the man had been born blind "so that God's power would be seen in Him," He explains that Lazarus' sickness would not end in death.  He goes on to say, "No, it is for the glory of God.  I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this."  Seems to be a recurring theme.  Everywhere Jesus goes, everything He does, He reveals the power of God and brings glory to His name.

The same is true today, in my life, as God works in and through me to make His power known and to bring glory to His name.  He is, after all, the same God!

Back to John 11, though...

We are told that Jesus was extremely close to Lazarus and his family, namely his two "famous" sisters Mary and Martha.  In fact, when their brother was ill, Mary and Martha sent Jesus a message, "Lord, the one you love is very sick."  You would think, then, that as soon as Jesus got word that his dear friend was sick, He would have dropped everything and rushed off to heal Lazarus.  Or at least given the order for him to get better, as He did with the centurion and the dying servant (Matthew 8 and Luke 7).  But, Jesus does neither. Instead, "He stayed where He was for the next two days and did not go to them."  Humanly speaking, this make absolutely no sense!  In fact, it almost seems downright mean, if not cruel.  Jesus purposefully stays away, intentionally letting Lazarus die!  And in so doing, He causes immense grief for Mary and Martha, who are supposedly his close friends!  Not exactly how I would want my BFF to treat me...

Actually, that right there is how I feel.  I can totally relate to what Mary and Martha must have been thinking and feeling as they questioned Jesus' actions, as they wondered why in the world He had stayed away instead of coming to help them in their time of need.  Granted, I didn't lose a loved one.  I am, however, curious about God's timing in regards to selling our house.  I have questioned why the first deal fell through, why we have had to wait for another offer for what seems like a very long time (in reality it's only been about 6 weeks).

But, then, I read the verse again and notice this, "BECAUSE Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, He stayed where He was..."

So, Jesus was acting in love after all.  He did have his friends' best interest at heart.  He was really, truly doing the absolute best thing possible for them, even if it seemed like the exact opposite at the time!

That is what I have had to keep reminding myself of over and over again throughout this whole process of selling our house, then losing the offer and canceling the contract on our new house, and waiting for another buyer for our current house so we can make another offer on a new house.  I have to trust that God does have my best interest at heart, that He is doing the absolute best thing possible for our family, even if it seems like the exact opposite at the time.  I have to keep in mind that God sees everything from beginning to end, that He knows how everything is going to fit together, that He has all the pieces to the puzzle and knows the best order in which to put them together, and that His finished work will be a masterpiece I never could have imagined on my own.  It's like my plan would be a toddler's scribbling compared to a Picasso or Van Gogh that God is creating.  And so, I am slowly but surely learning to be patient, to wait for God's plans and purposes to unfold so that I can marvel at the way He is working, so that I can see His power displayed, and so that I can bring glory to His name.

Thankfully, God uses stories like Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to build and strengthen my faith, to encourage me just when I think all hope is lost.

Let's get back to John 11, then, and see how Jesus took something awful and made it something wonderful.  Kind of like Gunger's song lyrics, "He makes beautiful things out of the dust."

We start to see a glimpse of what God is up to when Jesus lets the disciples in on a little secret, "Lazarus is dead.  And for your sake, I am glad I wasn't there, because this will give you another opportunity to believe in Me.  Come, lets' go see him."

A little more is revealed as we hear Martha's outlook on the situation, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  BUT even now I know that God will give You whatever You ask."  Martha sure didn't mince words or try to hide her feelings about Jesus staying away and allowing her brother to die.  At the same time, though, she hasn't lost faith in Jesus.  Quite the opposite, actually, as she still believes He can do a miracle and bring her brother back to life -- if not here on earth, at least in the resurrection to come.  The foundation for this steadfast hope, "I have always believed You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who has come into the world from God."

In a role reversal, Mary has stayed at home while Martha went out to meet Jesus.  Evidently, in her grief, Mary doesn't feel up to her usual "sitting at Jesus' feet" and opts to continuing mourning.  Not until Martha returns home from talking with Jesus and informs her younger sister that He wants to see her does Mary go out to face Jesus.  When she sees him, Mary does fall at Jesus' feet, but not to pour perfume on them as she had done before (John 11:2) or to take in his every word (Luke 10), but rather to confront Him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

Jesus' emotions get the best of him as He is "moved with indignation and was deeply troubled."  When He is taken to Lazarus' grave, we are told, "Jesus wept."  The shortest verse in the Bible.  A child's favorite verse to memorize :)  And yet, in those two words we see Jesus' humanity come pouring out.  We are able to relate to Him as He deals with His grief and pain.  We understand that He wasn't being heartless in staying away and not healing Lazarus.  We see that God has a bigger plan and purpose in all of this...

The crowds haven't quite caught on to that yet, however, and question just as both Mary and Martha did, "This man healed a blind man.  Why couldn't He keep Lazarus from dying?"

Once again, Jesus was deeply troubled and asked for the stone to be rolled away, ready to let everyone know that God is at work, that He does care, and that He does want what is best for those He loves.  As if to rub in the fact that Jesus didn't come in time, Martha mentions how bad the smell will be since her brother has been in the grave FOUR days already.  Jesus' doesn't plug His nose or cover His nostrils, but instead reminds her, "Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?" 

I feel like God has been asking me the same question as of late, "Sarah, don't you believe Me when I tell you I will be glorified in the selling of your house and the buying of your new one?  Don't you remember that I am in control, that I am working here -- for your good?  Don't you realize that I am going to show you My power, that I will get massive amounts of praise as result of what I am doing with your house situation?"

Back to John 11...As Jesus called Lazarus out from the grave, everyone was indeed able to see that God's plans and purposes were indeed good, better than they expected even.  After all, how much more powerful is it to raise someone from the dead than to simply make a sick man well?!  I mean, really, Jesus had already gave sight to a blind man.  Healing people was old hat for Him.  If T-shirts had been invented back then, He would have had one with "Been there, done that, have the T-shirt" scrawled across the front.  So, here, Jesus does more than just snap His fingers and relieve a fever, He brings a dead man back to life!  Take that, all you who questioned Jesus' ability to perform a miracle.  Any more doubters?  Anybody else want to ask Jesus why He was heartless and waited for his good friend Lazarus to die?  I think not...

Sadly, though, the Pharisees had let jealousy and bitterness darken their hearts.  Rather than celebrate with Mary and Martha as they welcomed their brother Lazarus out of the grave, we read that the religious leaders "began to plot Jesus' death."  I guess God's power and glory were just too much for them.

Not for me, not for me.  I want all the power of God in my life that I can get.  And praise be to God because that is just what's happening.  Last night, we received a new offer on our house!!!  As we have learned, nothing is final yet, but I can definitely see God's fingerprints all over this.  And as He is putting the pieces together, in the right order, and at the right time, God is whispering in my ear, "Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?"

Now, I just have to keep waiting to see how the rest of the story is going to unfold.  And once the deal is closed, I will fill you in on the rest of the details, and you too will see how this is ALL God!  But like me, you'll have to wait for it, wait for it....and then we can all praise and glorify God together!