Written by Karyn Dancy, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas
The story of the resurrection of Lazarus is fascinating. It was the last recorded miracle of Jesus before His own crucifixion. There are several lessons that can be taken from it. Two of them really hit home for me in this season of my life.
I struggle with serious depression. It’s been its worst ever since the beginning of this year because of some failed expectations that I had for my own life. Lesson number one, though, is that God’s timing is not my timing, but it is always perfect.
As I was reading various studies on the story of Lazarus’s resurrection, I learned for the first time that the Jews of those days actually had a belief that after death, the spirit would hover over the body for three days before it would move on. Have you wondered why Jesus waited till Lazarus had been dead for four days?
Jesus told the disciples why he waited till Lazarus had died. “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4b). At first, he told the disciples that Lazarus was asleep, but the disciples didn’t understand that Jesus was using sleep as a metaphor. “Then Jesus told them plainly, ‘Lazarus has died and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.’” (John 11:14-15a)
Four days, though, was significant because by this time, all of the Jews, including Martha, Mary, and the disciples who were with Him, thought it was too late for revival. Yes, they believed in a revival at the end of times, but they weren’t expecting it now. This all reminds me that God knows what He’s doing in my life and when it needs to be done.
God’s timing is perfect. There was something that I wanted in my life, and I lost it. I thought about Job and how in the end, he had even more than what he had lost, but I still didn’t want to lose what I had. I didn’t want double. I just wanted to keep my life as it was. Preparing to write this blog, though, led me to a quote.
C.S. Lewis said, “[Mortals] say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.” Can you imagine how encouraging that is? I’m still hurt now, but it gives me great hope to think that God can do this.
God can do this. This is where the second lesson comes for me. I have a great hope in the power of God through this resurrection story. It’s not just a hope for the resurrection itself. It’s a hope for everything God has promised me. He said He has great plans for me in Jeremiah 29:11, and I can believe Him. I love Him, and that means for me that He is working all things out for my good. He promised me that in Romans 8:28.
The God who conquered death will keep His promises to me. He can, and He will. He’s been faithful every step of the way. My humanity gets in the way to make me think it’s just too hard. It just hurts too much. That’s when God’s carrying me, like the Footprints poem, because He loves me, He’s made promises to me, and He never fails.
Resurrection wasn’t just an action that Jesus performed. In John 11:25, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” (Emphasis added) Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. As long as God’s Holy Spirit is in me, I have life. We’ll leave these bodies for a time, but Jesus will give us His resurrection and life for new, perfect, painless bodies. Being surrounded by His goodness is more wonderful than we can even imagine.
Jesus used the death of Lazarus as an opportunity to reveal His glory. When God fulfills His promises to us, He is glorified. Are we seeing how our hard times are opportunities to reveal His glory?
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