I'd like to share part of this morning's Gospel lesson:
John 11:17-44: On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. 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.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
It's rather lengthy, yes, but a great story nonetheless, with such a valuable lesson that I walked away with.
God's schedule doesn't always align with our schedule.
God's schedule isn't always the same as our schedule.
We see an example of that in this Gospel lesson. Mary and Martha wished that Jesus would have shown up when Lazarus was dying, or even at the funeral. But, Jesus was not one, two, or three, but FOUR days "late." Lazarus had been laying in the tomb for four days.
We see both Martha and Mary become frustrated, saying "If only you had been here my brother would not have died...."
But God had other plans. God used the opportunity to ruin the funeral of Lazarus and raised him from the dead.
It was an opportunity for Jesus to use His power to show the people He was the messiah and for "those standing there" to "believe that God had sent Him."
I think in our lives we sometimes have the same frustrations as Mary and Martha...
"God, if only you had been here, I wouldn't have been in this car accident."
"God, if only you had been here, we wouldn't have had this natural disaster."
"God, if only you had been here, I wouldn't have suffered from this mental illness."
"God, if only you had been here, I wouldn't have lost this friendship."
"God, if only you had been here, my Grandfather would still be alive."
"God, if only you had been here, I wouldn't have gotten this sick."
"God, if only you had been here...." Fill in your own story....
The truth is, God was always there. But He has His own timing. He is NEVER late. He is never absent. He always has perfect timing.
And often, we don't think His timing is best. We don't trust that He was the one in control. We think our own schedule and our own way of doing things was far better than God's schedule.
But as I mentioned yesterday, we sometimes look back and see the good things that came from our trials and suffering.
And we realize that God was there all along. And his schedule far surpassed any schedule we could have designed or tried to design.
And we hear Jesus say, "Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?" Did God not promise He would never leave us or forsake us? Did God not promise us an everlasting love and an everlasting life?
God's glory is revealed in so many different ways, and often, from suffering. God's glory is revealed in His perfect timing, not ours.
Thanks, God, for Your perfect timing. And sorry for my frustrations. Please help me to trust Your Hand behind everything in my life.
Positives From The Weekend:
-"The thought of having you as a student teacher working with me gives me chills, it would be an amazing opportunity. Too good to be true."
-"Thank you for your laugh."
-Wonderful worship this morning with both the sacrament of Baptism and the Lord's Supper celebrated.
-Thankful that the tornado did not hit my town, and that there were no fatalities or serious injuries in the town that it did pretty much demolish.
-"You're going to get your gift anyway, because your intentions were good."
-Beautiful weather
-Time to relax and rejuvenate
-Renewal of Friendships
-Prayer and Communication with God
-Fellowship with people who were on campus this weekend for various events who I haven't talked to in a while
Yes, God is good. I am truly blessed.
Amen!!!
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