“I will give you something to cry about.” Have you ever heard or said that phrase? If you are a little younger, “suck it up buttercup,” may be more familiar. Either way, both of these notions go along with keeping your chin up and not whining. My mother hated whining with a purple-hulled passion. I learned early on that if I wanted something to happen, I either needed to bring my case before my momma and see if she would give me what I asked for, (and this was what usually happened) not ask, do what I wanted, and suffer the consequences. Either way, whining never made it better. What brought all of this to my mind? Well, in my Bible reading, I came across John 11 and the story of the death of Lazarus. Jesus is out of town and the sisters send word to him that their brother Lazarus is ill. I love how these sisters are go getters. I always imagine Lazarus as being their baby brother, but I could be wrong. Jesus gets the message and tells his disciples that God will be glorified through what is going to happen. Let that sink in a minute or two. I don’t know about you, but if I was reading this for the first time, I would do a double take. He is saying He loves them, but He sure doesn’t seem to be showing it. Of course, we know the story and how the miracle Jesus performs when he arrives at Bethany is one of His grandest. This, however, is a great place to insert that cliché: “it’s always darkest before the dawn.”
You want to talk about whining — I would have squalled and boo-hooed and pretty much pitched a fit. Martha, bless her heart, went out to meet Jesus when he got to town. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” The woman had guts, y’all, chastising Jesus. She followed this up with a statement that showed just how strong her faith was. “But I know that even now God will give You whatever You ask.” When it looked like all was lost, when she didn’t understand how the impossible could happen, she still had faith in Jesus. My momma would have liked Martha. Martha called it like she saw it. Later on, when they are at the tomb, practical Martha tells Jesus that Lazarus is stinking by now. Jesus tells Martha she’s going to see the glory of God, so then she gets her act together and gets the stone moved so Jesus can do what He came to do.
Anyway, here’s the application I’m pulling from this story. Jesus loves me, this I know. If I call on Him in the hard times and don’t see my burden lifted like I think it should be in my little finite mind, I should not whine and doubt. God, the creator of the heavens and earth, holds me in His almighty hand. He died to pay the price for my sins. With that kind of power and that kind of love, I need to have faith that His timing is perfect even when I cannot see the sun anywhere on the horizon. God’s plan may not be the easiest, most obvious plan, but it is the plan that will glorify Him. Romans 8:28 promises us that God works all things for the good of His children. I’m learning more and more to lean into that promise.
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Jesus places mud on the man’s eyes and tells him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam, which miraculously restores his sight. The reaction from the blind man, however, differs completely from the crippled man’s in chapter five. The pharisees find out about the miracle and ask the formerly blind man how he received his sight. He tells them what Jesus did and gets drawn into a debate over whether Jesus is from God.
Once again, Jesus returns to the scene and offers salvation to the person He has physically healed. The blind man’s response is so different from the crippled man’s. The blind man believes Jesus is who He claims and begins worshipping Him right there on the spot. The thing that jumps out at me about these two stories is that Jesus knew going into both situations how the men would react. He knew who would betray him to the ones plotting against Him. He knew who would become His follower. Even so, He healed them both, placed Himself in harm’s way for both of them by returning to offer salvation when He could have just kept going. He knew the outcome, but still did what the heavenly Father called Him to do. Wow!
Are you ever tempted to give up? To stop praying for them? To stop showing the love of Christ? Do you ever feel you’ve done all you can do?
God knows the outcome before going into the situation. That’s not our concern. Our job is to be faithful, to offer to others the gift that was offered to us. The gift that only Jesus can truly give. We are just delivering the message. God is giving the gift.
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KC HartAuthorJoin me in my study of God's Word as I strive to draw closer in my walk with Jesus and seek His daily plan for my life. Archives
May 2024
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