| Trust His Plan |
Trust His Plan
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
— John 11:5
When Mary and Martha informed Jesus that Lazarus was sick, they
expected to see their brother recover as soon as the message reached
Jesus. But nothing happened. And instead of coming right away, Jesus
intentionally waited for two more days. By the time He arrived in
Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days.
Like Mary and Martha, maybe you had a need that you brought before
the Lord, only to receive an answer you didn't want. You may have
concluded that God doesn't love you. But God had a different plan than
you did. Isaiah tells us, " 'My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your
ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts' " (Isaiah 55:8–9).
Martha and Mary's message said, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is
sick" (John 11:3). Their word for "love" can be translated, "brotherly
love," which speaks of love that a friend has for a friend.
Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son . . . " (John 3:16, emphasis mine). This word "love" speaks of a
sacrificial, agonizing love, which loves a person in spite of anything.
And this is how Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.
Mary and Martha only thought of friendship, while Jesus thought of
sacrificial love. They thought of their temporal comfort, while Jesus
thought of their eternal benefit. They wanted a healing, while Jesus
wanted a resurrection. Jesus wanted to do above and beyond what they
could ask or imagine. He loved them with a deeper love. And He loves
us with a deeper love as well.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
— John 11:5
When Mary and Martha informed Jesus that Lazarus was sick, they
expected to see their brother recover as soon as the message reached
Jesus. But nothing happened. And instead of coming right away, Jesus
intentionally waited for two more days. By the time He arrived in
Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days.
Like Mary and Martha, maybe you had a need that you brought before
the Lord, only to receive an answer you didn't want. You may have
concluded that God doesn't love you. But God had a different plan than
you did. Isaiah tells us, " 'My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your
ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your
thoughts' " (Isaiah 55:8–9).
Martha and Mary's message said, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is
sick" (John 11:3). Their word for "love" can be translated, "brotherly
love," which speaks of love that a friend has for a friend.
Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son . . . " (John 3:16, emphasis mine). This word "love" speaks of a
sacrificial, agonizing love, which loves a person in spite of anything.
And this is how Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.
Mary and Martha only thought of friendship, while Jesus thought of
sacrificial love. They thought of their temporal comfort, while Jesus
thought of their eternal benefit. They wanted a healing, while Jesus
wanted a resurrection. Jesus wanted to do above and beyond what they
could ask or imagine. He loved them with a deeper love. And He loves
us with a deeper love as well.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |