Blessings From Patience

In review of John 11:40 it says, “Jesus said.., ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God!’”

Bottom Line:

If we believe, God will reveal his glory.

What this means to me:

Jesus tells me in his Word that if I have faith and believe, I would be able to see the glory of God.

Today’s verse comes from John 11 where John is telling the story about the raising of Lazarus. Jesus tells them to roll the stone aside that covered the tomb. But Martha, Lazarus’ sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.” Then Jesus responded with, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

I have to admit there are times in my life when I feel down. Things just don’t seem to go the way I had planned. When this happens, I need to keep in mind that comebacks happen when I am reduced to nothing. God can reveal and receive the glory when He makes something spectacular out of nothing at all.

John explains that Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, asked Jesus to come and heal their brother. He was gravely ill and passed away before Jesus arrived. It wasn’t an accident that He didn’t come immediately. Jesus knew just how sick Lazarus was. However, I’m sure the sisters felt reduced to nothing, and felt totally abandoned by their Friend Jesus.

In my own life I feel like there had been times when God may have forgotten me. Lazarus’ condition looked hopeless, but God made something wonderful out of seemingly impossible situation.. And He received the glory.

So as I look at my own life today, I’ve experienced some disappointment as I have been considering and wanting a different work environment (I have been doing the same work with the same client for a really long time.) I have been thinking about a change, to bring some freshness and newness. It seems that even though I’ve put out some feelers I’m not getting any real bites. This has been combined with seeing into the technology future, where myself and my team may not be needed in our clients future plans. Our client seems to be moving forward and not including us in their plans.  

What I reminded of this morning is that God’s delays are not God’s denials; they are blessings disguised for those who will wait in faith. I am to just keep praying until the answer comes. God has some things he is doing or building up in me. I just need to keep doing the best job I can and to put my trust in Him. I also need to consider that what I have today is a tremendous blessing and in no way is hurting me. I need to keep my focus on the right things and not allow the enemy to side track me.