Since we are analyzing almost an entire chapter in this post, I will not be typing out every single verse, so I really encourage you to open up your Bible and read John 11. This is a VERY familiar chapter in the Bible: it is where Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. There are many interesting aspects of John 11 (obviously Jesus brings a dead man back to life), but what is most interesting to me is how long Jesus waits to do it.
Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, were close friends with Jesus; in fact, there is an entire verse written to just state that Jesus loved them (v.5). Considering how close they all were, it would make sense to all of us that when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He would come running to heal him. Well, that is not what He does at all. He actually stayed two extra days where He was originally (v.6).
Okay what? Let's all be honest here, that really doesn't make any sense. Jesus' friend is dying, and He is aware of this and WAITS to go heal the guy. It kinda leaves us asking, "Why, Jesus?" Martha actually had that reaction exactly. Turns out, by the time Jesus gets there Lazarus had already been dead four days. FOUR DAYS. Let that sink in.
Martha basically tells Jesus if He had showed up on time, her brother would not have died. Isn't that how we are often times? We expect God to show up in big, miraculous, part the Red Sea, raise up dead men ways, and He doesn't or at least He doesn't when we expect Him to. It doesn't really matter that Martha questioned Jesus though, and here is why: she expressed her faith in the next verse. In verse 22, Martha said, "But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it to thee." See we are human and we will question God, but what is important is that despite the questions and doubt, we press on and have faith anyway.
To sum up the rest, Jesus brings Lazarus back to life with only three words, "Lazarus, come forth" (v.44). He ends up explaining why He waited those four long and hard days, probably the longest and hardest days of Mary and Martha's lives; He did it so people would see the glory of God and believe. Think about it, if Jesus had went ahead and healed Lazarus and kept him from dying, we would not have one of the most powerful stories in the Bible.
The point being, hard times will come. Tragedies will happen. You will pray in faith for God to fix it right then and there, and He may not. BUT that does not mean that He isn't going to come through eventually. He just is not on our time schedules. God does things His way in His timing, and He can do that because after all, it's His universe and we're just living in it. Look at Jesus in this chapter: He waited those four days on purpose because He knew in the end it would work out. And right now, in your life, He knows in the end it is going to work out. It just may be four days later than you thought.
