Why God?
Have you ever questioned God? Have you ever ask God why he allowed you to go through a trial, an illness, pain, trauma, addiction, or loss? I know I have. Do you know who else did? Jesus’ disciples questioned Him, and Mary and Martha questioned Him in John 11.
I love this chapter so much because it makes me feel “normal” for questioning God. I do it all of the time. Then, my emotion of guilt sets in because I should know better than to question God. I should TRUST Him! Yet over and over and over again, I tell Him what I know to be the problem, and how it can be fixed, just like the disciples did in John 11.
John Chapter 11 is the story of Lazarus who dies. Jesus was told Lazarus was sick because people believed that he had the power to go and heal him. When Jesus got the information, his word says in RED that “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” John 11:4. Jesus then did nothing for 2 days. He stayed right where he was, and when he was ready he said to his disciples, now we will go to Lazarus and his family. His disciples tried telling him that it was too dangerous to go there, he could be stoned to death, yet He didn’t need them to tell him that. He already had all of the information. He knew Lazarus was going to die, yet they wanted to tell Jesus what to do. They had the answers by telling Jesus, Lazarus would be fine, he just needed rest. Then when Jesus was ready, He revealed to them that he allowed Lazarus to die, so that he could prove his real power which was to raise him from the dead.
Do you ever try to tell God how to solve your problems? Do you bargain with him and tell him, “If you will just take this pain away, I will be able to do this_____”(fill in the blank). Maybe he doesn’t listen to you, because like with Lazarus he had a bigger miracle in store, with a lesson attached to it.
Maybe you are like Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sister. “Lord, Martha said to Jesus. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:21. Do you blame God for the situation you are in? God, If you would have stopped me from drinking to much, I wouldn’t have lost myself, my family, my job, my friends, my reputation! You could have stopped all of this God! But what if God answered me and said, I allowed this in your life to strengthen you, to show you what it is like to be completely out of control, to doubt me, to try and rely on your own strength, or others, so that you would really know how powerful I am? He did answer Martha in that way when he said to her, “ I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?” John 11:25-26.
Lazarus rose from the dead on Jesus’ time frame. He used his death and proved to the disciples who thought they knew what was best, and to the people who witnessed the miracle, and to us who now read of the miracle that He has the power to breath a New Beginning in this actual earthly life, if we believe in Him.
Do you believe that he has the power to give you a new beginning? Can you use what you thought would be the death of you to acknowledge his power in your life? Will you now take that lesson and grow closer to him and live in gratitude? Can you look for the lesson in your struggle? That can be hard, but remember Jesus revealed the lesson in His timing with the disciples and he has a time for you too.
