June 27, 2022 - John 11:1, 3-4, 17, 32
“Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”” John 11:1, 3-4, 17, 32 NIV
Lord, when I read this story, I see how your plans and Mary’s plans just didn’t match. She was upset that you didn’t come sooner before Lazarus died. You could have come sooner and healed Lazarus. If you would have done that, it would have been a great miracle, but how much more of your glory and power was displayed by raising him from the dead 4 days after he was placed in the tomb. Yes, Mary and Martha experienced pain because of the waiting, but what an amazing blessing they received in exchange.
Lord, we want to learn to trust you even when things don’t go our way. We want to walk out in faith and pray with expectation but show us how to balance walking in faith and not acting like you are obligated to give us what we want. You are the God-over-all and you do not answer to us. We don’t want to act like we control you. If you answer our prayers, we praise you. If you don’t answer our prayers, we still praise you. You are still good and faithful even when we don’t get our way. Help us not to throw a tantrum and walk away like a toddler when we don’t get our way. Help our faith and trust mature to the point of trusting through the pain, through the lack of understanding, through the trials, and through the disappointment, because you are always good, loving, and trustworthy.
In Jesus name, amen.
