Have you ever had to wait for something a long time? It could be waiting for a job, a health concern, for a relationship to be healed or another important aspect of life. What did the Lord teach you through this situation? When these events occur in our lives, we don’t often think that the Lord is using this to teach us. Only in retrospect do we begin to realize that through that situation we grew spiritually.
As we look at the first part of our story, Lazarus is quite ill. His sisters send a note to Jesus requesting Him to come quickly in order to heal their brother.
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.”[1]John 11:1-3
Evidently Lazarus is so ill that the only hope he has is Jesus. Place yourself in the scandals of Mary and Martha. Your brother is ill, and you have sent a note to Jesus, but you must wait for Jesus to come. They are waiting on God. While they are waiting on Jesus to come their brother dies. The question is: what can the Lord teach us while we are waiting?
- Psalm 27:14 – Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. [2]
- Psalm 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. [3]
One of the most difficult things in life is trusting in the Lord and not depending on our own understanding. It is often when I have to wait on the Lord that He is able to teach me about trust and dependence. He uses these times to grow us spiritually.
When we wait on the Lord and focus on God’s help, it cuts away life’s attractions, diversions, and illusions.
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
[1] The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
[2, 3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Pr 3:5–6). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.