Do you remember the father who came to Jesus for help with his demon-possessed son? Jesus told him, "All things are possible for one who believes." The father cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:20-24).
John 11 is the story of the raising of Lazarus. It's an interesting study in faith. First, remember the set up. Jesus was informed that His dear friend, Lazarus, was sick, so He ran off to save him. Well, no. The Scripture says, "When He heard that Lazarus was ill, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was" (Luke 11:6). Of course, Lazarus died while Jesus delayed. So, 4 days after he died, Jesus came around. Lazarus's sister, Martha, told Him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:21). He told her, "Your brother will rise again" (John 11:23), but she thought He was talking about the last day. So Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26). When He saw Lazarus's other sister, Mary, she said the same. "If you had been here ..." So He went to the tomb and wept and then raised His thoroughly dead friend from the grave (John 11:34-44). The response of the onlookers was fascinating. Some believed but some ran to the Pharisees to report it (John 11:45-46). In the face of a bone fide resurrection from the dead, they denied their own eyes and sought to have Jesus (and Lazarus -- John 12:9-11) killed. That is hardcore unbelief. But there was another version of unbelief there. It belonged to the "believers," those who knew Jesus and "trusted" Him. Both Mary and Martha thought that Jesus had made a mistake in not coming to Lazarus's aid when He was called. They could have very well said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"
Mary and Martha were not unique or even unusual. When Jesus did what they thought was best, they were happy with Him. But, like us, when He did what they considered to be a mistake, it wasn't approved. Mind you, Jesus knew what He was doing. He intentionally waited for Lazarus to die (John 11:6-11). It wasn't a mistake; it was the plan. And it was for good -- the good of Lazarus, the good of His followers, the good of the onlookers, and, ultimately for His glory. But they, like we, were pretty sure He messed up. He didn't. And we, like them, have a hard time believing when God doesn't do what we think is best. When someone dies or something bad happens, we challenge God's wisdom, power, or love. Perhaps we can learn a thing or two from their experience, because the truth is that God always does what is best. The question is, will you believe?
8 comments:
I find that I have to continually tell myself that YHWH is in control, that He already knows what's going to happen, and that I just need to accept that Truth. It's hard because I know in my head or intellectually that YHWH has a history of being faithful and providing for His people, but sometimes it's hard to convince my gut of that reality.
wonderful post, so relatable, made me teary eyed.
I pray nearly every morning for help in recognizing that everything that happens is part of His plan and is for my good, because I know I fail to see it in the moment all the time.
I don't mean to dismiss anything which has been said by others above, but I think I'm not fooling myself in simply taking it for granted that everything is in God's Hands or part of His Plan, regardless of how it affects me in the moment. I'm way too concerned with how I'm going to deal, since "everything is in His Hands" doesn't absolve me of my obligations in this life.
Just sayin'... Perhaps all feel as such in the long run.
My takeaway from the Mary, Martha, & Lazarus episode has always been this: I want God to step in and fix things in the manner that seems clear and obvious to me—i.e. come heal my sick brother right away before it’s too late. But God sometimes says, “If you are patient and trust Me, I will do even greater things than that—i.e. bring a dead man back to life.” No matter how many times I see this play out in my life, I always fail to wait for God’s greater and better thing over my good thing!
~Lorna~
Marshal, do you think anyone in this conversation believes that the Sovereignty of God absolves us of personal responsibility? The point isn't to be fatalistic and say we can't do anything since it is all in His hands. It's supposed to be uplifting to know that even when we do our best with what we think are good intentions, that we aren't going to throw a wrench in God's plan. He is absolutely in control, and He enjoys using us to accomplish His plan, and nothing we can do will interrupt that plan.
That's one of the problems with Islam. The fatalistic Insh'a Allah approach to everything. It can definitely be an excuse for doing nothing. The difference I see is that as Christians, we are supposed to play an active role in the Kingdom of God as it exists on earth.
I think that was respectfully said Marshall.
I too believe that my actions or inactions do have consequences and that it is not God’s will for me to sin, have a hard heart, walking unbelief, oppose God’s will, etc. etc. yet I still do, to my shame. His sovereignty is so great that he gives us free will, allows us to act upon it, and somehow makes everything work together for our good.
Absolutely mind boggling.
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