Why do we go through so many trials in our life? What can the Lord teach me in my trials? Do have questions about trials that you want to ask the Lord?
When I was six years old, I found myself in the midst of my first major trial. Grandma Riechers was dying of thyroid cancer. I can remember going with my mother and grandmother to the hospital for grandma’s treatments. I can remember that grandma couldn’t speak after they removed her larynx. Even though I was just a small child, the memories are burned into my mind. After she died, I can remember thinking that if I died, grandma would be in heaven to meet me.
I didn’t realize at the time how much the Lord was teaching me through this difficult experience. In our story of Lazarus, his entire family is enduring a trial. Lazarus is very sick, and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, are somewhat overwhelmed by the situation.
There was a certain man who was very ill. He was known as Lazarus from Bethany, which is the hometown of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary did a beautiful thing for Jesus. She anointed the Lord with a pleasant-smelling oil and wiped His feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus became deathly ill, 3 so the sisters immediately sent a message to Jesus which said, “Lord, the one You love is very ill.” John 11:1-3
As our story unfolds, Mary and Martha are looking to Jesus to bring healing to their brother. Trials often cause us to look up. We can no longer depend on ourselves or someone else, but only the Lord. There is something about being dependent on the Lord that is life changing.
We read in 1 Peter 1:6-7 – You should greatly rejoice in what is waiting for you, even if now for a little while you have to suffer various trials. 7 Suffering tests your faith which is more valuable than gold (remember that gold, although it is perishable, is tested by fire) so that if it is found genuine, you can receive praise, honor, and glory when Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, is revealed at last.
Are you going through a trial right now? Have you experienced significant trials in your past? I find it reassuring that the Lord is with us in our trials. He brings good out of the most difficult times of our life. Trials are not easy and many times they don’t turn out the way we would like them to. My grandmother was healed, but it was in heaven. Prayers were answered, but in a different way.
Take the loving hand of Jesus as He walks with you through the trials of life. Listen here to hear the whole story of Lazarus: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/journey-with-the-divine-intruder/the-divine-intruder-and-lazarus
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.