The Resurrection at Bethany - Conclusion

When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This illness 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 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.4.NIVUK So then he told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.’ John 11:14‭-‬15 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.11.14-15.NIVUK I'm not sure if it actually happened or not, but it's said that a woman went into her pastor's office, following a sermon he had preached on patience. "Pastor, I need you to pray for me." she said. "I want you to pray that I become a more patient person." They both sat down on either side of his desk and close their eyes. "Lord." the pastor prayed. "Cast my dear sister here onto a bed of suffering the likes of which she has never yet had to endure...." The woman interrupted him sharply. "Pastor, what on earth do you think you're doing?" she snapped. "Well, you want to become a more patient person." the pastor smiled. "There is no better way to learn patience than through suffering." I wonder if Mary, Martha and Lazarus would agree. They were cast on to a bed of illness, stress, worry and then death. Worse, the one person who could change their entire situation in a heartbeat had been informed, but didn't come. What thoughts were racing through their head at night! How they would have heard others snipe and gossip about Jesus, when they seemingly had so few arguments to support Him! I wonder if this is how it feels for us to wait on Him to save us. I wonder if we feel the bitter, sharp tongues as they snipe against us. I wonder if we feel their blasphemous accusations against our Lord and wish we could argue against them, but since He is not helping us right now, we wonder what on earth we can say. This sentiment is expressed in the Bible too: Help us, God our Saviour, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’ Psalms 79:9‭-‬10 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/psa.79.9-10.NIVUK Yet we've seen that the Lord sometimes makes us wait because He has a plan. And His plan is for something far greater than just rescuing us from our bad situation now. He plan is for Him to be glorified through us, and for us to believe in Him. Imagine: He is glorified more when we wait on Him and trust Him through difficult circumstances than He is when we live in comfort and ease. This is a searching truth. So what would we rather have, honestly? Would we rather a life of comfort or a life that glorifies God? Because sometimes we have to choose between them. We see that God doesn't just wait. When we are in the middle of deeply trying circumstances, He weeps. He weeps with us. He sympathises with us. He knows how we feel better than we even know ourselves. Lastly, we see that the day will come when God will work. He will work a wonder in our life. However, we need to be prepared to take Him 'where the body lays', to open the parts of our life that cause us shame and embarrassment - that stink - and to leave the tomb when He calls. We may need the help of other people, but there is no better place to be than blinking in the sunlight after Jesus has restored us. We might think that we are too far gone. We might feel like we have been in that tomb for years, not days. However, this miracle shows that no-one is beyond the re-creative, redemptive Word of God. Hear it, friend. Let it fall gently on your ears. Let it settle on your soul. Let it quicken you. And then rise: rise to a new life in the sun. This is indeed an outstanding miracle. But the same miracle can be the experience of each and every Christian if we truly believe in our Lord. Trust me: the wait may be long and gruelling, but when we step forth from the tomb, every second of it will seem like nothing to us. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Instead, rise up and be healed.