God Has a Different Timetable; but He Always Loves Us Through Christ
One of my favorite stories in the bible is the death of Lazarus and his resurrection by our Lord Jesus Christ, described in the gospel of John (11: 1-44). It says clearly in this chapter that Jesus loved Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. When Lazarus was ill in Bethany, his both sisters sent a message to Jesus, hoping that He will cure his illness. But, Jesus intentionally stayed two more days in the place where He was staying. Dr. James Dobson in his book titled,” When God doesn’t make sense”, quotes this bible story and says “Jesus usually shows up about four days late.” Even though God said that He will listen to our prayers, He never promised us that He will answer our prayers immediately and in the way we want Him to respond. In the case of Lazarus, Dr. James Dobson says that “Jesus only appeared to be late; but He arrived at the precise moment to fulfill the purposes of God – just as He always does.” We should never forget that the timetable of God, the Father, is complete different from ours, for specific reasons, which we may not know. Jesus told His disciples that He was glad that He was not in Bethany when Lazarus died, so that they may believe. It is clear that Jesus planned the whole sequence of events so that His disciples would be benefitted. When Jesus came to Bethany and saw Mary and the Jews who had come along with her weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, troubled and wept. There were only three instances recorded in the gospels when Jesus wept during His ministry on earth. The other two instances were when He wept over the city of Jerusalem and in the Garden of Gethsemane, which we will remember during the holy week. Our Savior is always kind and sympathetic towards us during our times of trouble. We live in a sinful world, and we are also sinners. Hence, we will face troubles and trials during our lives on this earth. But God promised us through His son that He will never abandon us. As Paul says in Romans (8:37-38), nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Jeya Chandra
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Authors:The people of Grace share their favorite bible stories for the 2023 Lenten Devotional: I Love to Tell the Story. Each day's devotional will be automatically posted so come back daily after 7 am for a new reflection. |