Welcome to Day 25 of our 40 Day challenge! Matthew 12:1-14

(Catch up with us, with our reading list March, reading list for April,  and Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23, Day 24)

Today we are reading John 11:1-7 and John 11:30-44:

John 11:1-7

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ² (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) ³ So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you loveis sick.”

⁴ 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.” ⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.⁶ So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷ and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

John 11:30-44

³⁰ Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.³¹ 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.

³² 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.”

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵ Jesus wept.

³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “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.”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² 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.”

⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ 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.”

In today’s passage, we see the Lord deliberately waiting to respond, and in that wait, it appears that all hope is lost. But God had a greater purpose in mind! Those who loved Lazarus only had to wait three days for their miracle. Many of us have waited decades and continue to wait. In some things, God answers quickly, and in others, He seems to tarry. But in them all, He is working His purposes in His Kingdom, and working them all together for our good at the same time. He is building our character and allowing us to join Him in what He is doing.

People ask me the why for prayers or situations in their own lives and for mine as well. It’s always in good faith, genuinely wanting to understand. We want to walk with Christ well, and we want to suffer less! But I often tell people I’ve stopped asking God why. I don’t think I’ve ever had a why question answered, so I assume it’s not helpful to me, and I likely wouldn’t understand it anyway. But I do know that asking Him to redeem what I experience is a prayer He loves to answer. Asking Him to bring His Kingdom to my situation is a prayer He loves to answer. Asking Him to let me join Him in what He is already doing in the lives of others is a prayer He loves to answer. And asking Him to love others through me is a prayer He loves to answer.

Sometimes though, like with Lazarus, we get the joy of seeing so quickly and clearly why Jesus tarried. We get to celebrate the miracle without the three days of sorrow and disappointment and whys. But I don’t see this as the norm in the Christian life. I find there are so many whats and hows and whens I need to ask, and so I’m satisfied to set aside the whys.

If I trust Him, that He is good, then I don’t need the why.

Options for further  journaling or discussion throughout the challenge:

• Choose a part of the passage to write out by hand. Writing by hand helps us slow down and focus on what the Lord might highlight for us in the passage. Our brains can focus and remember better by writing than just reading alone.
• Journal about what the passage brings to mind. Does the passage tell us anything about God? Does it tell us anything about our response to Him?
• Does your heart respond in gratitude to any part of the passage? Write or pray your gratitude to the Lord.

We’ll see you next time, for Day 26 and Luke 17:11-19 and Luke 18:35-42

♥ Samantha