God Sized Answers
August 9th, 2010 § 2 Comments
I have read the story of Lazarus in John 11 many times, but this morning something new struck me. In verse 23 Jesus makes a statement to Martha about her brother Lazarus, Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha reacts in a way that most of us would say was a faithful reaction to Jesus by responding in verse 24 with, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Martha obviously had faith in Jesus and knew that Lazarus would be in heaven at the resurrection.
What I started to think about as I read on, was how we tend to approach God’s will with preconceived notions about how God will answer our prayers. When we are sick we assume that God will either heal us or take us home. With great faith Martha knew that Jesus would act at the resurrection, but Jesus surprised her. In the last part of verse 43 and the first part of 44 Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out. Jesus provided in a way that no one in this story could have dreamed of.
God is capable of so much more than any one of us can ever realize. We put God on par with human capabilities and assume that God can not think of new and creative ways of providing for us. When I ask God for help, I must be willing to accept God’s way of providing for me. I need to remember to pray with an open hand, knowing that God can and will provide for me in ways I could never dream of.
Wow, Dino, extraordinarily good insight. How quick I am to put God in a box! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks, Doug. I really appreciate your feedback.