How would you make something more valuable to someone? By giving them a greater need for it. Taking away what they already have or allowing their circumstance to get worse, causing them to have a greater need for something else. That sounds awful, doesn’t it? So how does that make sense, when the bible says “Though he causes grief he also shows compassion.” Lamentations 3:32-33 says,
“but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.”
Biblical Examples of Trusting God’s Timing
John 11 provides us with a concrete example from the Bible. Mary’s brother Lazarus was sick so Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” You probably would expect Jesus, who has been healing people and doing many miracles, to hurry over to where Lazarus was to heal his dear friend, right? In contrast, Jesus’s response to Mary and Martha was “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Ok so, Jesus isn’t in a hurry to get over there, but he is God so he knows what will happen and if he says that Lazarus’s sickness won’t end in death then Lazarus probably is doing better. For the next two days, Jesus stayed where he was, and then said to the disciples that they were going to go to Judea. The disciples were scared because the last time Jesus was there, people tried to stone him. Jesus consoles them and then says that Lazarus has fallen asleep and that he must go to wake him up.
Then Jesus says something that doesn’t make sense to us as humans. John 11:14-15 says,
“Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
What?! If someone told me that I would exclaim, “Excuse me! How can you call him a dear friend?!”
When Jesus and the disciples finally got to Bethany, Jesus was told that Lazarus had already been dead for 4 days. Martha and Mary were in their house. When Jesus came, Martha went out to greet him and said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus if only you had been here a few days ago you could have cured his illness! If only.
You can imagine her sadness and probably anguish that Jesus hadn’t come earlier when she knew he could have. If He had just been here a little earlier. Like how maybe in our lives we say, if I had just started a little earlier, I wouldn’t have been late or if I had just studied a little more, I could have passed the test. If he had just been taken to the hospital a little earlier, he would have lived. If only.
Trusting God with Your ‘If Only'”
But then Martha says something that seems to show a glimpse of hope in the “if only.” She says, “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” My brother, your dear friend, is dead. You could have saved him from dying if you had come earlier, but even now I know that you still can. You can ask God to raise him from the dead. She still has a glimmer of faith that He can save Lazarus.
“Take away the stone” Jesus said! Martha protested. The same Martha who earlier said that she knew God would give Jesus whatever he asked. “Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’” and Martha did believe.
After they rolled the stone away Jesus said in John 11: 41-42, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Then Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out!” and Lazarus came walking out of the tomb. It took three words. Jesus could have easily said those three words when he first heard about Lazarus’s illness but no, Jesus did all of this to show his glory and grow their faith.
Recognizing God’s Plan in Difficult Seasons
See, Jesus could heal your illness right this second. He is in control of everything and everything is his. He could cause you to get that job you’ve been longing for, but he knows what is truly important. What is really “good” isn’t the job he would give you or the illness going away. What’s good for you is Jesus. That is what he wants most for you. He knows that faith grows more when you have to put it into practice. Trust when you do not understand, believe when nothing that is going on seems believable.
See, Lazarus was a dear friend to Jesus. But Jesus knew that what was better for Martha and Mary wasn’t Lazarus. In their sorrow, it wasn’t Lazarus who was going to give them true joy, or who would fulfill their deepest voids. It was Himself. It was Jesus. Though those days for Mary and Martha of Lazarus’s illness and death were probably painful beyond belief. Though it broke them into a million pieces, it was good for their sakes and the disciples.
The Importance of Patience in Faith
You must have the faith to believe that no matter the circumstance you are going through or will go through in life, Jesus cares for you. Let your circumstances grow your faith and he will show you a greater glory. Greater than life itself.
Psalm 63:3-4 “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.”
There is more to this life than you see now. Something better. So much better. So much better that life itself doesn’t even compare.
You might think that it was cruel for Jesus to allow Mary and Martha to go through that situation. You might believe that my God isn’t caring and compassionate, but I beg to differ. I beg to differ that in the hurt, He shows the greatest love that you will never experience anywhere else. He isn’t emotionless or selfish. Look at John 11:35, “Jesus wept.”
Now look at the reason he was weeping. Yes, Lazarus was a dear friend to Jesus. He cared deeply about him, but Jesus knew that Lazarus wasn’t going to be dead for long. Jesus was weeping because he saw the sorrow Mary and the other people wailing with her were experiencing. He not only wept because of the pain that he felt but he was filled with deep anger and genuine sadness. Like how you might be filled with sadness and anger when hearing about someone getting shot in the news or losing a family member to cancer.
The Growth That Comes from Waiting on God
Maybe you are at a point in your life where it seems like God won’t come through. The story of Lazarus being raised from the dead was only a matter of days, but you might be going through a trial that lasted weeks, months, or even years. I would encourage you with this, God’s timing and plan are different and unique for each individual. He may be working and wanting to accomplish something in your life that takes more time than you would wish for, but it is always better to live in God’s timing than our own.
By Grace Alone,
Rebekah Elizabeth
