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After Martha said this, she went back and talked to her sister Mary alone. Martha said, “The Teacher is here and he is asking for you.” John 11:28
His final days were excruciatingly painful. She spent her time going from his bedside to looking down the street to see if they were coming. She had friends, fellow mourners, posted at the gate of the small town, ready to send word as soon as they could be seen along the dusty path.
Time was running out. Her brother, Lazarus, was weakening fast. Where was he? How could he delay at a time like this? She counted the days. She’d sent him word two days ago. There had been time for him to make the trip. He should have been here by now.
One last look down the street. Nothing. Her gaze and thoughts were interrupted by Martha’s touch on her shoulder.
“He’s gone.”
She ran to his side. His lifeless body still warm, but it was obvious he was no longer there. She wept. She lay across his body. This, her only brother, her friend. In the Jewish family system, when the father died, the oldest brother took his place. For the first time in her adult life she felt like an orphan. If only they’d come. If only they’d been the kind of friends they said they were. The teacher said he’d be with her always! Where was he now?
The days ahead were a blur of memories and mourning; of preparations and decisions; of greeting members of the community and family who’d come to comfort. She was gracious. She was always gracious. But she often cast an eye down the street to see if they had come.
She sat in her room a couple days after the funeral. “Strange,” She thought, “I’m not sure if I’m sad the Teacher didn’t come or angry; disgusted or disappointed; confused or…”
Her thoughts were interrupted by Martha’s touch, “The Teacher is here and he is asking for you.”
There was no hesitation. She ran to him and hugged him, held him as she sobbed into his arms. Once she composed herself in anguish she whispered, barely audibly, “If only you’d been here he wouldn’t have died.” There was anguish in her voice to be sure, but no doubt.
We often read the story of Lazarus and focus on the resurrection of this dearly loved man without considering the emotion of the other players in the story. Few, if any of us, will ever see someone rise from the dead, all of us have experienced the absence of God in the midst of troubling times.
God’s silence is not an indicator of his apathy to your pain. While Jesus didn’t appear when Mary and Martha hoped, his appearance fulfilled their need in His time, not theirs. What struggle are you going through? What event have you invited God to attend, but gotten no answer? We can’t understand his timing, but we should never doubt that he will come to us in his time.
He is risen. He is risen, indeed! Let the prayer below guide you in falling into the Saviors arms. He’s asking for you.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus. This turmoil I’m going through right now seems unbearable. I’ve looked for your presence but can’t find it. I invite you to come now to comfort, strengthen and renew me. Amen.
Now take seven bulls and seven male sheep, and go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will listen to his prayer. Then I will not punish you for being foolish. You have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job did.” Job 42:8 (NCV)
One of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves is to forgive others.
Forgiveness doesn’t say the other person is deserving of forgiveness. Forgiveness doesn’t condone their actions. Forgiveness doesn’t mean in any way that the relationship can or will ever be the same.
Forgiveness brings freedom.
Forgiveness allows us to become instruments of grace.
Imagine the pain and agony Job had endured. He had lost his children. Nothing is more devastating to a parent than to lose a child. Job lost ten of them all in one tragic moment. He lost his fortune. While still grieving the loss of his children he was met with financial calamity. While his head was still spinning, his health was taken from him. Then, to add insult to injury he was visited by three friends who continually reminded Job that things like this only happen to sinful people. Job should repent. Job should admit he was nothing but a filthy rag. Job should have faith.
Ironically, that’s all Job did have by this point was his faith. Job didn’t understand why God was allowing all this to happen to him, but he never lost sight of the fact that His God would deliver him. He never lost his trust in this God who’d gone silent.
God humbled Job with a series of questions and Job bowed in worship and admiration of this God who’d been so absent during his struggles. God never explained why he allowed such tragedy, and Job never again asked the question we all ask: “Why?”
Perhaps one of the most stunning parts of the story happens after the dialog between Job and God. God turns to Job’s friends and demands they bring sacrifices for their actions. They had spoken ignorantly of God and sacrifice was required for forgiveness. But not just any sacrifice. The sacrifice had to be administered by Job.
Amazing. The very people who had accused Job wrongfully would now humble themselves before him (and God). Their forgiveness was dependent on Job’s offering up of the sacrifice. Can you imagine how hard it was for the victim and the aggressor to approach the altar together?
That’s the power of forgiveness. We may not be able to physically approach the altar of forgiveness with those who have wronged us, but we can do so in the spiritual sense. To experience the freedom Christ gave us through his death and resurrection we must forgive those who have willfully or ignorantly wronged us. This is impossible to do through human will. This kind of forgiveness can only happen through the power of the Holy Spirit of the Living God. This kind of forgiveness allows us to become instruments of grace.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess to you that there is a need for forgiveness in my life. I harbor hurts, grudges and bitterness. I nurse feelings of judgmentalism. I gossip. Like Job, I need your power to bring my enemy to the altar of your forgiveness so that I can be free. Amen
In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:20 (NASB)
Psychologists tell us that security is both a feeling and a reality. On the one hand, you can look at security in a mathematical fashion. For example, you may think the odds of being mugged on the street of a large city at night are more likely than being mugged on the street of a small town in the middle of the day.
Security is also a feeling. You can feel insecure even when the mathematical likelihood of being in danger are minimal. In the same way, you can have a false sense of security and tell yourself you are safe even though you are in dire danger.
Why is it important to feel secure? Feeling secure enables us to be who we are. Fear cripples us; security frees us. Fear keeps us from being all we could be; security empowers us to try new things. Fear keeps us from building strong relationships; security allows us to let other people into the darkest recesses of our souls. Fear paralyzes; security empowers.
There are all sorts of phobias out there. People are afraid of failure, of their past, of the future, of darkness and light, of animals and bugs and…fear itself. Fear is a hole in our soul that can only be filled with faith in Jesus Christ. We can seek security in money or relationships or crowds or the being alone in the wilderness.
Jesus paints a picture of true security for us. A picture of security that nothing will penetrate. The word picture is best envisioned by working backwards from his description. Jesus says we are in him and he is in us. It’s as though he is protecting us from the outside (we are in him) and protecting us from the inside (he is in us).
But it doesn’t stop there! Our protection is made stronger by the fact that we both are wrapped in the arms of a loving Heavenly Father. The God of the universe wraps us up in his arms of love and protection, while, at the same time Jesus is protecting us from the inside and the outside! We are double wrapped; double secured!
What shall separate us from this protection, this love of God? The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8. Nothing. Nothing will penetrate the shield of protection we have in God the Father. And, if by some chance it does? Jesus is the next line of defense.
Don’t let fear cripple you. Don’t allow fear to keep you from being all that you can be. Trust the double protection of the King of Kings to see you through any obstacle in your past or in your path.
PRAYER: Almighty God. I confess to you that all too often I allow fear to affect my actions and my attitude towards you and others. Empower me by your Spirit to act with courage and wisdom when fear tries to cripple me. Amen.
You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up; then God will show mercy to you. Proverbs 28:13 (GNT)
One time while camping in the north woods of Minnesota we saw an interesting phenomenon. When we retired for the night we’d unknowingly left a jar of peanuts open and on a table. In the early morning hours a chipmunk happened to come along and seeing an opportunity, climbed into the jar and filled his cheeks with delicious peanuts. Unfortunately, the mouth of the jar was just large enough for him to get in, too small for him to get out with his peanut-filled cheeks.
We watched from our camper as he tried repeatedly to escape, but to no avail finally, he took the only recourse he had. He emptied his cheeks and (I imagine) begrudgingly left his treasure behind.
There are times in life when we hold so tightly to things that they keep us from enjoying the freedom God intended for us to have. Guilt is one of those things. Guilt can be ‘real’ guilt, based on things we’ve done against God, against ourselves or against others. Guilt can be false as well, based on the words and activities of others who use their power to keep us subdued and imprisoned by their own anger.
Like the chipmunk, we struggle to move on with victory in sight, but never seem to be able to make that final leap, never seem to be able to rid ourselves of those feelings of guilt and failure that bog us down.
- Guilt forces you to focus on the past and clouds your vision for the future;
- Guilt focuses on your failures not your strengths;
- Guilt sends inaccurate messages about who you are. It tells you that YOU are a bad person when in reality it was your actions that were bad, not you;
- Guilt masquerades as anger (leading to bitterness);
- Guilt is a breeding ground for fear & worry;
- Guilt can shorten your life expectancy by raising your blood pressure, risk of heart disease, diabetes, depression, and anxiety disorders.
Millions of dollars are spent each year to find cures for a variety of illnesses. The good news is that medical science has made great strides in controlling or even curing many diseases that were once life ending.
The better news is that when we talk about guilt, the cure is already available to us…and it’s free! Guilt will never be resolved by a simple pill. Guilt will never be relieved by counselors or religion. Guilt can only be taken from us through confession to the one person who promises to grant us forgiveness and mercy.
Jesus Christ came to free you of the burden of guilt. He came to cleanse your guilty conscience. Other people may refuse to forgive you; other people may continue to remind you of your faults; there may be physical reminders of your poor choices that you will carry the rest of your life. But through confession of your sin, your guilt is taken away through Jesus Christ, who grants mercy to all of us.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’ve been lugging this baggage of guilt with me for far too long. I confess my wrongs to you and ask you to forgive me and grant me mercy so that I can live free of the guilt that kept me captive. Amen.
All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, so that somehow I also may be raised to life. Philippians 3:10-11 (CEV)
A crowd of people gathered around a man on a hillside. Excitement fills their eyes and hearts as he teaches. Some have been following him for months. Others have just recently joined the euphoria. Then something he says causes a stir. Expressions of joy fall to concern, some even anger. One by one they leave. Some murmur. Some shake their heads in disgust. Starting in the from the front first and working its way back, the movement begins until just a dozen or so are left. The teacher looks at the remnant and asks, “Will you stop following me too?”
A small room quietly hidden in the streets of Jerusalem. Flickering candles give the only light. The once celebratory atmosphere has left as the teacher begins to tell of his impending doom. One student interrupts him mid-sentence. “I will never leave you! You can count on me to be by your side regardless of what others say or do!” The others nod in agreement until the teacher looks the student in the eye and says “No! No you won’t. You’ll leave me like the others.”
We say we want to know him more. But do we? As one writer states, “Many are willing to reign with Christ, but they would not be willing to suffer with him; many would be willing to wear a crown of glory like him, but not the crown of thorns; many would be willing to put on the robes of splendor which will be worn in heaven, but not the scarlet robe of contempt and mockery.”
To know Jesus deeper involves the risk that we may endure the fellowship of suffering. Peter pledged allegiance—but denied him; the people followed him—but left when his teaching turned to suffering not victory; many today have settled for religion based on rules and feelings, rather than a relationship with the King of Kings.
If you want to wear the robes of glory, you must first bear the scars of earth-life; if you want to experience victory you must pass through the grave, for in death is victory and in suffering comes esteem in God’s eyes and that’s all the really counts.
To know Jesus more is much more than intellectual knowledge, it is experiential and it takes time. Book smarts is knowledge; experience is wisdom. Knowledge without experience is futile for wisdom gives knowledge its power.
Do you want to gain victory? Then use all that is within you to grow in him, without fear, without reservation. For in knowing him in his death and resurrection we receive power and life.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I’ve read this verse many times but today I am aware of my own fears and reservations to totally sell out to you even though I know that is best. Empower me to grow deeper in you. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 