Read John 11:17-27. Circle the words that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
Digging Deeper
Believe it or not! What was the most incredible answer to your prayers that you have ever experienced? Where, in your heart and mind, you actually believe that it was a God “thing” and not by accident or coincidence. Have you had any of those kinds of experiences?
Martha’s statement of faith is incredible. She says this, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” She has already declared that her brother, Lazarus is dead and yet she believes that God will grant His petition of whatever He asks. Is Martha implying that she believes that Jesus can even raise Lazarus from the dead? She had a remarkable faith.
How did Martha come to such faith? How can we have that kind of faith? Martha’s faith was not based on herself. It is a faith that didn’t come from herself. Her faith was based on Jesus and what she has seen and heard from Him. She came to a firm conviction that Jesus is The Resurrection and The Life, that He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
In other words, it is not my faith, but having faith in the One who will answer our prayers. It is not conjuring up more faith, if I may use that phrase, but it is a belief in who our God is and what He can do on our behalf. Let us stop trying to “make” more faith on our own and start resting in our God’s character and compassion for us.
Let us entrust ourselves and our impossible circumstances to God, laying it at His feet. We need is to be still and see what our God will do for us and follow His lead. For we walk by faith, not by sight.
-Kingston