When God Lets You Die

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Have you ever been in  a situation where you expect God to come through for you  in a 'timely' manner, yet he doesn't? Have you been stuck in  a rut for such a long time, you can't understand what is going on around you? Has God failed to show up at the time you expected him to? Well, I was drawn to the story of Lazarus in John 11 recently, and I just had to write this post to encourage anyone reading this. 

When Lazarus was sick, his sisters sent word to Jesus to tell Jesus Lazarus was sick. I believe they expected Jesus to show up immediately, pray for Lazarus, and heal him. But Jesus kept doing what he was doing. It appeared Jesus had a lackadaisical attitude towards Lazarus' illness. It must have appeared to all the people around that Jesus was not interested in healing Lazarus. Jesus appeared to be too busy for Lazarus. 

When Lazarus died, word was sent to Jesus that Lazarus had died. This again did not cause Jesus to get up and rush to Lazarus' home. He kept preaching to people, healing them and simply doing his normal routine. You can bet the people gathered at Lazarus' home by that time were already cooking up stories about a fallout between Jesus and Lazarus. Lazarus must have sinned against God; perhaps he was forcing himself on Jesus this entire time. It is clear they were never really friends. 

Jesus eventually made his way to Lazarus' home on the fourth day, and you can bet the mourners shook their heads and probably whispered all sorts of gossip. But Jesus was there for one thing - to show God's glory. As you already know, he called out to Lazarus and Lazarus rose from the dead. The miracle of Lazarus' resurrection must have had a greater impact on people that his healing would have. Jesus healed people everyday; Lazarus was one of the few he raised from the dead. 

Understand this: whatever you are facing now, whatever it is that you are going through, know that Jesus will show up in a way that will shock you. He might not show up at the point of time you expect. You might feel like you are dead and you are beginning to stink like Lazarus was, but when the resurrection power of Jesus descends upon you, it will seem like you were never in a rut. After Lazarus was called out from the grave, there was no record of him falling ill again or still feeling like he was in a grave. Whatever rut you are in, whatever the situation or the circumstance, know that Jesus will show up for you.  People might be using your situation to mock you; they might be laughing at all your fruitless toiling; some people might even start telling you you're at your destination already. 

Pay no attention to them! When God lets you 'die', it's not so people can mock you, or so he can laugh at you. It is so you can see God's glory in its fullness and be a testimony to others. Stay strong, stay blessed