Tuesday Thoughts

In the book of John, Mary and Martha sent for Jesus when their brother, Lazarus, was sick. A few days later, Jesus arrived after Lazarus had died, and the sisters weren’t thrilled that it had taken Him so long.

Surely, they believed that since Lazarus was dead, that was the end of the story. However, Jesus had a miracle in mind and brought Lazarus back to life right from the grave!

Before Jesus performed the miracle, Martha and Mary went into Monday morning quarterback mode. Both of them boldly declared, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 

Do we ever boldly start a sentence with, “Lord, if You had been here….” and then proceed to tell Him how He should have answered our prayer request? How about expressing comments like: “I’ll believe You care about me if”…(He answers our prayer a specific way)  Or “I’ll be able to trust You more when”… (fill in the blank with another bold suggestion about how the God of the universe should operate.)

God is present and intervening even when we can’t ‘feel’ Him. He is not obligated to answer our prayers how or when we think He should or to reassure us in the manner He has before. He is not required to show up in a way that makes the most “sense” to us or that is most convenient or comfortable.

Do you think God ever wants to put our face in His hands and say, “Child, I’ve been here the whole time. I’ve been working in your situation the whole time. I have your best interests at heart. Trust my perfect track record.”?

He Gets To Be God

He gets to be God, and we get to be His followers. And being His followers means trusting His answers, His ways, and His timing.

It means trusting God to be God.

I might just be reminding myself of these truths today, but If any of them serve as a good reminder for you, please let me know!