Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God? (John 11:40).
In the Gospel of John, we find Lazarus was very sick, and his sisters knew that Jesus was his only hope. Therefore, they sent for Him to come and heal their brother. They were desperate. They needed the presence of the One whom they loved and on whom they depended. They also knew that Jesus loved them and enjoyed being around them. They expected Him to do what all friends would do: drop everything and run to their aid. They should have known that Jesus would only do what He received from the Father, but they pulled the friendship card of false expectations. How often we allow this attitude to rob us of Divine Appointments.
How often our conflicts have more to do with our predisposed views than with what others do or have done to us. We often have expectations that have nothing to do with what God is saying to us or others. We know one thing: we know what we want. We must get rid of this fallacious thinking. This kind of thinking has prevented us from seeing the blessings of the Lord in our lives. We often have what we want but not God’s best. If Jesus had hurried to meet Mary and Martha’s expectations, they would not have seen the glory of God! Much of the time we ask the Lord to bless us within our mental framework or within our parameters of comfort, but the Lord’s desire is to give us a “take away the stone” experience. We will never have the miraculous taking place in our lives while we choose to live within the framework of the natural. Natural thinking is not the atmosphere for the miraculous.
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again’” (John 11:5-7). Notice what Jesus did. He loved them enough to do what was right regardless of their expectations. The Scripture says, “So, when He heard that he (Lazarus) was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.” I encourage you to listen for the voice of the Lord in everything and you will have a “God Intervening Life.” He is so amazing. I believe the reason for this miracle is that Mary and Martha had no ability to control the situation. Please, take your hands off of the controls of your life. Give everything to the Lord.
Release to Him your will, so that the will of God might be done in your life. Jesus’ final words in this story were, “Loose him, and let him go” (John 11:44). Be loosed today from all that has bound you! This is a day of resurrection!
In Christ,
Pastor Don