(Part 1 of 2)
“Now a certain man was
sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary
who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose
brother Lazarus was sick. “-John 11:1-2
Have you ever been in what seemed
like an impossible situation; a situation that quickly went from bad to worse?
Mary and Martha faced such a dilemma. Their brother Lazarus was sick. His
sickness progressed to the point that the sisters, in desperation, sent word to
Jesus for help. However, when Jesus heard about Lazarus’s condition, he did not
respond immediately but instead stayed away an additional two days. During this
time Lazarus died! What hope they had for his recovery was gone.
When Jesus arrived in Bethany, Martha
ran to meet him and said:
“Lord, if You had been
here, my brother would not have died.”-John 11:21
Martha’s statement is telling. It is
evident from her words that Martha only had hope for Lazarus’ recovery while he
was still alive. Once he died, Martha’s hope was gone. She doesn’t appear to be
blaming Jesus for arriving too late to help, but instead was implying that
there was still hope for Lazarus’ recovery four days ago, but not any
longer. She still retained hope in a
future resurrection, but her hope in this moment had vanished. Martha maintained hope while the conditions
were still favorable, but like many she set an expiration date on how long she
would believe for his recovery.
This, however, was not just a Martha
problem. When Mary heard that Jesus had arrived, she too went out to meet Him.
There she fell at His feet and declared:
“Lord,
if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”-John 11:32
Mary had the same struggles as
Martha. She too believed in Jesus, but every ounce of hope that she had invested in this situation
seems to have evaporated. I am sure that she, like Martha, expected Jesus to
arrive, pray for Lazarus, and everything be alright. I wonder how many of us confess to believe in
God’s ability and power, but only within the confines of what we believe is
possible. How often do we dictate how and in what time frame God should respond
to our circumstances?
When facing impossible situations, I
believe that the problem we face is not an issue of faith, but instead a
problem with hope!
Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church
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