When Jesus was on earth, those three years, He did things that were confusing to His disciples and the people around Him. They did not always understand His word or His actions. The same is true for us as His followers today. We don’t always understand His Word (the Bible) or the way He works.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Isaiah 55:8 NLT
It took the disciples until after Jesus ascended into heaven that they finally understand Jesus and His work.
As we read the scriptures continuously, we can also learn about Christ and His work in the people He served while on earth and what He can do in our lives.
As we look at the account of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, we learn about the ways of God.
God delays (It seems like it to us)
God’s watch is not set at the same time as ours. God is never late.
2 Peter 3:8 tells us,
“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.” NLT
God does not do things on our timetable. He knows the future, so He allows things to happen just at the right time. He is never late in His plans.
This was the case with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus,
“A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”
But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, he stayed where he was for the next two days.” John 11:1-6 NLT
Jesus had a reason why He does not go right away to Bethany to heal Lazarus. He delayed for a purpose. In our lives, God looks like He is not doing anything, but He is. The time has not come for a specific plan for your life.
We have to be patient and wait on Him to work.
God is glorified
God is glorified when we praise His great power and work.
Jesus tells us the reason why He did not go straightway to heal Lazarus when He was alive.
“But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” John 11:4 NLT
Jesus was allowing His disciple and other people to believe that He was Christ. God on earth with them then.
“Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”
The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.” John 11:11-14 NLT
Jesus removes any plausible explanation for this situation. They would see and know that this was a miracle from God. Lazarus had been dead four days and was already buried in a tomb.
“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
“Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” John 11:39-44 NLT
God gives us an opportunity to believe in Him that His name might be glorified. In the account of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, Jesus planned to bring glory to God and help His disciple’s unbelief.
In our everyday life, God is at work, showing us that He can be trusted with every part of our lives.
Even when there seems to be no hope, in the end, God will be glorified.
