SCRIPTURE:

Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NIV)
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Daniel 3:17-18 (NIV)
17 “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

DEVO:

Have you ever felt like God didn’t show up for you when you thought he would? You expected Him to do one thing and He didn’t and now disappointment has set in? In John 11, Jesus is called on to use His healing gift for a close friend of His. Mary and Martha had been longtime supporters of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus would frequent their home as his last stop on the long walk from Galilee to Jerusalem. During these times he would have conversations with, share meals with, and laugh with the two women and their brother Lazarus. Jesus found in these three faithful friendships and loyal companions. So when Lazarus became deathly sick, it only seemed natural that Mary and Martha would send an S.O.S. to Jesus immediately.

A strange thing happens when Jesus receives word of Lazarus’ sickness, however. Scripture tells us that he didn’t come to Lazarus’ rescue immediately, he stayed two days longer. While these two days lapse, Lazarus dies. Rather than arriving at a hospital bed, Jesus shows up to a funeral. 

I suppose I would have had the same reaction as Martha. When Jesus shows up she goes out to meet him, bewildered, hurt, and angry. “If you had been here,” she says to Jesus, “he wouldn’t have died!” I’m sure it was very confusing for both Martha and Mary to have seen with their own eyes Jesus heal the sick with a word or a touch of the hand. Surely, they thought, He would wield the same power over their brother. After all, Lazarus was one of Jesus’ favorite people!

What Martha didn’t know is that Jesus wanted to do something greater in Lazarus’ life than what He’d done in others. Lazarus had now been dead and in the grave for four full days. According to the science of human decay, four days is the point at which a dead body begins to decompose and no longer remains intact. Perhaps Jesus wanted to demonstrate something even greater than authority over disease. He wanted to prove his authority over the sting and decay of death itself. He wanted to show that he can reverse the biological processes the sin curse has lorded over our lives since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. He didn’t just want to provide relief from his sickness, he wanted to bring resurrection. 

At times I’ve found myself guilty of presuming what Jesus was going to do in my life based on what He’s done in others’. I’ve looked at my circumstances with the best of motives and ministered to my own heart with, “Well I’m sure God is about to do X” or “This must be the moment He shows up and does Y.” And then He doesn’t. And I’m left feeling disappointed and disenfranchised — because God didn’t hold up to my expectations. 

The pivotal faith moment in this story occurs right after Martha makes this indictment of Jesus’ tardiness. She looks at Jesus and says, “Even now . . .,” acknowledging Jesus’ power and sovereignty over the situation. Her language moves from “What if”— “What if you had been here?” —  to “Even now.” Something powerful happens in our heart when we move from “What if” questions of God to “Even now” (or “Even if”) statements to him. “Even if you don’t heal, Jesus, I will still choose to praise you.” “Even if you don’t show up, Jesus, I will still trust your plan.” There is something both freeing and healing about acknowledging the fact that we are powerless to control certain things in our life and that in the midst of those things God is good and He is worthy of trust and praise.

In Mary and Martha’s story, this moment opens up the opportunity for Jesus’ power to move in an even greater way than just healing Lazarus’ sickness. It opens up the opportunity for Jesus to raise Lazarus from the dead. And He does! But more on that tomorrow . . .

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND JOURNALING:

1. Have you ever been disappointed in God? Have you found certain expectations you’ve had of Him that He’s not fulfilled? Write those out. Tell God about them.

2. What “What if” questions are you entertaining right now?

PRAYER:

Lord, there are times that you don’t show up for me in the ways I expected. I know these expectations are not based on promises you actually made to me, rather based on my own personal desires. But it still hurts. Heal my heart when all I can see is “What if” questions. Help me to move to a place where I can say, “Even if you don’t, I will still praise you."