Begin with 2 minutes of silence and stillness before God.

Want to know what I’m good at? I am SO good at telling God how something should play out. I’ll be sitting there, not minding my own business in the slightest, and be like, “God, I think x, y, and z should happen this way.” Because obviously my plans are better than His, right?

Wrong.

Martha and Mary had a plan, too. Lazarus was sick, and they sent for Jesus. They were friends with Jesus, and they knew He could heal Lazarus. They had complete faith in Jesus. Their plan had a small hiccup, though.

Jesus didn’t rush to Lazarus’s side. He took His time going, and by the time He made it to their home, Lazarus had been dead for four days. At this point, Lazarus was for sure dead-dead, not just mostly-dead like Wesley was in “The Princess Bride.”

There was no magic pill that Jesus gave to Lazarus. Two things happened. The first was that Mary and Martha believed. They had faith. Verse 22 shows us that even though they had lost their brother, Martha still had faith that God would give Jesus whatever He asked. The second was that, once again, we see obedience. Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out!” And that he did.

If I was Mary or Martha, I would be asking why. Why did Lazarus have to die? Why didn’t Jesus just come immediately or heal Lazarus from afar?

More than anything, it was a way to show God’s glory. If Jesus had arrived earlier, some might have argued that Lazarus wasn’t truly dead, and if Jesus healed him from afar, I’m sure others would have argued it wasn’t truly Jesus who resurrected Lazarus. Waiting four days ensured that God and only God received the glory.

Even when we are unsure of how or why or even what Jesus is doing, we should always be asking, “How can I use this season to be the light and bring God glory?”

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Ask yourself if you are more likely to fight and claw your way through your own will, or if you are willing to go down the narrow path God planned for you even if it doesn’t make sense at the time.
• Take a moment to listen to “Thy Will” by Hilary Scott and ask God to let that be the will of your heart. Even when it hurts, even when it doesn’t make sense; Your will, not mine, will be done.

Family Application: John 11

By: Carrington Stuart

Today’s story in the Book of John is about a miracle-something that only Jesus and God can do! The story is really sad at first, but then Jesus comes in and does something amazing. Let’s read all about it!

One day, Jesus heard some really sad news. His friend, Lazarus, was really sick. Jesus was really upset, so He decided to go visit Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. But when Jesus got to their house, Lazarus had died. Jesus cried when He heard that His friend had died and told Mary and Martha that He would be there to help them.

Mary and Martha thought that Jesus meant that He would stay with them and be a good friend, but Jesus had something even better planned. Jesus told everyone at Mary and Martha’s house to help Him move the stone away from Lazarus’ tomb. All of the people thought that Jesus was crazy-Lazarus wasn’t alive anymore, so why would He want to see him? But they listened to Jesus and moved the stone. Then, Jesus prayed to God for help and said, “Lazarus, come out!” You’ll never believe what happened next – Lazarus got up and walked out of the tomb! He was alive!

Everyone who was there was amazed and knew that Jesus could do anything. Jesus is a healer and can perform miracles. They were so excited to see Lazarus alive again!

• Do you pray and ask for God’s help when you need it? Who can you pray for this week who needs Jesus’ help?
• Prayer: God, thank You so much for sending Jesus to help us. He is so amazing, and I know that He can help anyone and do anything. Thank you for loving me and always taking care of me. I pray that You would be with [whoever needs prayers] this week and remind them that You love them and will take care of them, too. We love you, God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.