John 11 - 3.18.26

Scripture 

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it (John 11:4)

Observation

Jesus was close friends with Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary. Lazarus fell sick when Jesus was away. His sisters sent word to Jesus. When He heard the news, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Instead of leaving immediately to see Lazarus, Jesus proceeded to stay two more days where He was, and Lazarus died of his sickness.

His sisters were obviously devastated. They must have felt betrayed that Jesus did not show up on time. But Jesus deeply cared and grieved with the sisters. The shortest verse in the Bible is recorded in this passage, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).

Four days after the death and burial, Jesus stood outside the tomb and prayed to the Father, and called the dead man by name. Lazarus walked out alive out of the tomb. Raising Lazarus from the dead, glorified Jesus as the Son of God.

Application

Sometimes our prayers are not answered at the time that we expect. Sometimes the answer we receive for our prayers is a "no.” The disappointment can be devastating.

We have to trust our God that He knows what is best for us. He is the one who has the keys of David. He is the one who not only opens the doors, but also closes the doors (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:11). When the Lord does not give us something which we desperately wanted, we need to trust our Father's wisdom. Our times are in His hands (Ps 31:15). We need to trust that He will make all things beautiful in His time (Ecc 3:11). No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless (Ps 84:11).

We need to trust that He will reveal Himself in the delay and in the answer, to His glory, because He is faithful. James exhorts us to be patient for God’s time and season in our life, like a farmer waits for the land to yield crop patiently waiting for autumn and spring rain (James 5:7).

Prayer

Father, I thank you because you love me. I thank you because my life is not my own (1 Cor 6:19), but Yours.. Help me to trust you in the valleys as much as I trust you in the mountains of my life. Help me to trust you through the disappointments of delayed answers to prayers. Thank you because nothing happens in my life without you allowing it (Lam 3:37). Nobody can have power over my life, unless it was given from above (John 19:11), as there is no authority except that which You have established (Romans 13:1). I trust you. I thank you because my life is in your hands. My times are in your hands (Ps 31:15). No good thing will you withhold from me because I walk uprightly (Ps 84:11). You will make all things work together for good for me, because I love you and I am called according to your purpose (Rom 8:28). I pray that my life will be for your glory, and that the Son of God will be glorified through my life (John 11:4). In Jesus’s name. Amen

- Asha Chacko George