I was recently reading john 11:1-44 and was amazed at what the Lord began to show me through it. The passage is about Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, had died and Jesus, along with his disciples, went and raised him from the dead.
I am just going to write a few of the key scriptures that stood out to me...
John 11:3-4, "So the sisters sent word to Jesus, 'Lord, the one you love is sick.' When he heard this, Jesus said, "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 11:38-40, "Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
John 11:43-44, "He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”
Think of yourself as the one Jesus loves, think of the body of Christ, think of your family members, friends, neighbors. Think about the things that you are going through, or things that loved ones might be going through. Think about what you want to do for the Kingdom of God, whatever the Lord has put in your heart...or think about what is stopping you from doing it. When I look at the scripture where Martha is telling Jesus that Lazarus was in the tomb for four days and that there would be a stench if Jesus rolled back the stone against the tomb, I think of how often we prevent the Lord from doing a work in our life. I also think about how it is sometimes easy to say we believe that God can do something amazing, but when it comes down it, often find ourselves skeptical or uncertain. Maybe we think it will be too painful, too difficult, too overwhelming, or that it just isn't possible. Well listen to Jesus's words, "...believe and you will see the glory of God."
Jesus spoke, "Loose him, and let him go." I believe that the Lord wants to do that in so many of our lives. He wants to take us to greater places, to open the door for greater things. He is saying, "Church, come forth, Bride, come forth." The "bandages" or whatever it is that has kept me bound, you bound, the body of Christ bound, will fall to the ground and we can rise up to truly live as the Bride of Christ should live. What are you believing for? Do you REALLY believe that God can do it? Do you really believe that you will see it? Whatever it is, get ready, because believe and you will see the glory of God.
