Greetings in Jesus’ name!

“So then [Jesus] told them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him’” (John 11:14).

Jesus knew his friend Lazarus was deathly ill. Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary, pleaded with him to come and heal their brother. Instead, he waited until Lazarus had been dead four days. This is significant because popular Jewish thought at the time was that the soul would periodically revisit the body for a few days after death. Jesus postponed his return until there would be no hope for, or explanation of, a resurrection by any means other than a miracle.

Lazarus probably didn’t appreciate Jesus’ delayed arrival, just as we don’t appreciate his being tardy in our life situations. With his life slipping away, Lazarus must have wondered, “Where is Jesus? Why doesn’t he come?” I suspect that is the same question many of us are asking right now. Jesus, where are you in all this craziness? How long will you wait? Come and save us now!

But the story of Lazarus reminds us that the Lord does not operate according to our timelines, which sometimes means he purposely waits – “So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.” He waits, not to make us suffer, although we may; he waits to display God’s glory – “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

So, in the waiting, trust that Jesus is not late, or asleep at the wheel; he is waiting for the exact moment, the perfect situation to show God’s glory. 

This current crisis has been bad on many levels. It may get worse. Even so, I am confident that at the right times, and in the right places, Jesus will show up and do miraculous things. I have no doubt that this current crisis will be used for his glory so that we may believe.

Be patient, church. Trust the Lord. Wait eagerly for his redemption.

Psalm 130:5-8
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14).

Patrick