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To Help You Believe
Andrea Lende • June 13, 2020
John 11:4, 14-15
To Help You Believe
Daily Word:
John 11:4, 14-15
“When Jesus received the message, he said, This sickness is not to end in death; but it is to honor God and to promote His glory that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
“So then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus is dead.”
“And for your sake I am glad that I was not there; it will help you to believe (to trust and rely on Me). However, let us go to him.”
We know the story of Lazarus’ sickness and death well.
His sisters sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick asking Him to come.
But Jesus didn’t go.
He tarried.
He waited until the unthinkable happened.
He waited until Lazarus was dead.
Not only until he was dead, but He waited until Lazarus was buried for several days.
I was putting myself in the Mary and Martha’s place for a moment.
They must have felt extreme distress.
They had to watch their brother suffer with illness and die.
They had to bury him.
All the while they were waiting for Jesus to come and heal him, but He didn’t.
They must have felt betrayed by Jesus’ absence.
Of course, we know the end of the story.
Jesus waited so He could instill a greater faith in those who followed Him.
He wanted to show them the miraculous.
He wanted their belief in Him and His Father to increase.
So, He waited.
He waited until it all seemed to be said and done.
Lazarus was in the tomb.
The people were grieving.
And then Jesus showed up.
His actions were bigger than their minds and spirits could imagine.
He brought Lazarus back to life.
And the people’s belief skyrocketed.
Similarly, we cannot begin to imagine the things that God wants to do in our lives.
We see we need Him.
We want Him to answer our prayers the way we ask Him to answer us.
We are disappointed when our answer doesn’t come.
We become distraught and disillusioned because we didn’t get our answer.
And then the miracle comes.
Out of nowhere, the miracle comes.
If God would have answered our prayer in the way we wanted Him to answer us, there may not have been the miracle.
Just the answer.
Our belief in Him may not have increased as it does when He answers in the way only He can do.
Today I choose to continue to believe in the miraculous and give my burdens to the Lord for Him to work His miracles in my life.
May you find that the Lord has bigger plans for you than you can imagine and that He will show Himself miraculous in your life.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for Your wonder working Power. Thank You for continuing to show Yourself as the God of miracles. Thank You for working everything in my life out perfectly according to Your plan. Help me see You work, Lord. I love to watch You do what only You can do. Help me not miss You as You work in my life. Increase my faith as I watch Your perfect plan unfold. Just when I think I have things figured out You work in a way that I could not have imagined. Thank You, Father, for all that You do and all that You are. Thank You for every blessing. Thank You for every hardship that You have worked out for Your glory. Strengthen my faith so that I can withstand all that the enemy tries to derail me with. Help me continue to keep my eyes on You, Lord. As I spend time with You, my strength is renewed, and my faith is restored. Keep me Yours, Lord. Keep me Yours. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM with you, My child, and will continue to strengthen you and show you Who I AM.
Response: Thank you, Almighty and All-Powerful Lord and God and Savior.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.