Jesus is Always Working
Today is day 2 of the crazy caronavirus phase of life. All restaurants in Columbus, OH are closed down - which makes my job a lot harder has a b2b commission only sales rep. In the end, it's better than getting sick and not being able to be with my wife in the delivery room when our baby girl finally arrives.
To be frank, it's stressful. A lot of people are having a hard time and it's not only impacting our health, but income's as well. But this all will pass, and Jesus is always in control.
My quiet time today was in John 11. One of my favorite passages, and ultimately one that Jesus always seems to speak to me in again and again and again. This time, the verses that specifically made an impact were 39-40:
Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?"Boy that hit me hard. Jesus impressed upon me a number of things in just these two verses alone.
1 - It's clear in reading the whole chapter that Jesus knew Lazarus was going to die, which meant he allowed that intentionally. This puts forward the principle that there's benefit for us for Jesus to both prevent pain, and bring us through pain. It's clear Jesus knew this was going to cause Mary and Martha pain, and Jesus clearly felt that with them (vs. 34-37). But he also saw how in allowing it to happen, Mary and Martha's faith would grow all the more than it would had he simply shown up and healed him.
2 - Jesus answers Martha beginning with the phrase "Did I not tell you." Wow. How crucial is that for our lives. He's essentially saying, "Martha, remember what I told you before!" This happens a lot through the gospels, and is almost always used to call people to the attention that what they're experiencing is of no surprise or of any concern to Jesus.
-- If we aren't saturated in Jesus words enough, remembering what he's already told us is hard. A great reminder to be saturated in scripture.
3. Jesus reminds us of a promise. "If you believe, you will see the glory of God." The word "glory" is worth a study all on its own - one that completely changed my life. But in the end, it's clear that when we believe Jesus, he will show us more and more of himself. And the more we see, the more we believe, and this cycle continues more and more for the rest of our lives. Drawing closer to Jesus begins by believing him enough to obey him.
- In this case, it was believing Jesus enough to remove a stone from a tomb. Makes me think, what kinds of stone could Jesus be asking me to remove that could result in a further picture of the glory of God? Obedience always results in me seeing more of who God is. (John 14:21)
In the end, Jesus is always working. Sometimes he allows what we don't expect - or prefer, if we're honest with ourselves. However, if we continue to hold to the words of Jesus, and believe them both in mind and obedience, we will see more and more of who He is, and THAT is what makes life worth living.
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