Have you ever felt let-down by God? Or been in a situation where you had to defend your relationship with God? In the book of John Chapter 11, we read a moving story of the account of Lazarus’s death.
Now a certain man, Lazarus of Bethany was ill. A certain man? No! He was not just any man! He was the brother of Mary. The same Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus, taking in His every word, while her sister Martha cooked in the kitchen to take care of Jesus and the crowd that came with Him. My point is; these were Jesus’ own people! His personal persons!
Their home had been a platform for Jesus’ Ministry. They invested their resources, their time, indeed their very lives in Him. In addition, Jesus personally validated Mary when He said “Only one thing is needed, Mary has chosen the good part, and it shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42).
For one so approved, for a family that close, you would expect that Jesus would drop everything else, and come running when there was a crisis in the family. Lazarus’ sisters took it for granted that Jesus would come quickly too. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God, that God’s son may be glorified by it” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was (John 11:3-5). Really Jesus?!
Have you prayed long on a certain matter, and expected some quick results, yet it seems like God is taking His time? You may even be tempted to say that He is doing nothing about the situation?
Well, by the time Jesus eventually showed up at their house, Lazarus had died and had already spent four days in the tomb! When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home (John 11:20). She could not face Him! Jesus was her Hero! “Where were you, Lord, when I needed you most?” she cried within her soul. Now, not only did she have the loss of her brother to deal with, she suddenly became insecure in her relationship with the master. She thought she knew the Lord, almost to the point of being able to predict Him. She knew His itinerary, knew where to get Him. She had seen His compassion when He ministered to the sick. She knew He loved Lazarus! (Or so she thought!) Actually, she didn’t know what she knew anymore! The devil is truly after our relationship with the Lord. He will seize any situation to make us doubt Him.
It would have been okay if she was allowed to grieve privately, but people were everywhere; mourning with her, trying to console her. The problem was: these people associated her with Jesus. They knew Jesus was not just her close friend but a friend to her entire family. They hosted Him in their home. He even ministered to people from her sister’s living room!
There was no doubt that underneath their feeble attempt at consolation many asked “Where was the miracle worker when this happened?” The weight of her pain, the pain of her shame kept her back when she heard Jesus was coming. She could not face the Master.
But Jesus understood. Mary’s state was pitiable. Jesus asked for Mary. It was Martha who went to get her. Martha loved the Lord, but she knew Mary lived by His every word. This must be really hard for her. She went and called her sister Mary, saying in private (away from the glare of the sympathizers), “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. (John 11 vs 28 &29). It meant a lot to Mary to know that Jesus still cared. She was thinking; My brother may have died but He asked for me! What the words of many sympathizers could not do, the words of Jesus did for her. She arose quickly!
We may have hit rock bottom in our lives, but there is still a ray of hope left in us. Somehow, we are hoping that the Lord will come fetch us. We long to hear the voice of the One who knows where we are and what we are going through. Someone who understands the magnitude of our pain, the depth of our hurt. Someone who sees us as we really are!
With a pain laden voice Mary said to her Hero who arrived too late, “Lord, if you had been here... my brother would not have died!” What She did not know was that He was there all the time! He followed carefully the proceedings at their house. He told His disciples the same minute Lazarus died. Of course, you know the rest of the story, Jesus raised the dead man back to life, all that is history. Mary and Martha walked away from that experience changed forever! Once more, the Lord pushed the boundaries and limits any man could place on their knowledge of who He is and what He can do.
