Is Your Lazarus Dead?

 

John 11:1-3 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of May and Her sister Martha. (This Mary whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same on who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” (NIV)

In John 11, it tells the story of a man named Lazarus who was very sick. His sisters, Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus to let Him know that Lazarus was near death's door. Upon hearing the news, Jesus did not leave to go heal him right away. He actually stayed where He was for two more days until after Lazarus had died. The sisters were distraught because Jesus had not come in time to prevent their brother from dying. However, the situation of Lazarus' death, did not stop the ultimate miracle. Lazarus was indeed dead. Upon finally arriving, Jesus was even told that due to the length of time he was dead, there would have been an odor from decay. Did that stop Jesus? No! He had the stone rolled away and called for Lazarus to come forth. 

There are many times in our lives where we have a "Lazarus" or what we would consider a "dead" situation. We may feel that there is no hope of ever coming out of the death that we are in. We may say as the sisters did, "God, if you had only come in time," or "if you had answered my prayer when I first asked, I wouldn't be in this situation now." What the sisters didn't realize, and many of us do the same thing today, is lack of understanding that God specializes in resurrecting dead situations. He does not always come when we think He should, but He will arrive. 

Did you lose a job, but prayed prior to losing it? Did you lose a relationship, but prayed prior for it to be restored? Did you lose faith because God didn't come through when you asked? Did you lose a love one, but had asked for healing prior to the loss? These may all be true in that God did not come through as expected. However, God sometimes doesn't answer in the way we want Him to in order for Him to get the glory in the end. If you hadn't lost that job, you wouldn't have known that God could still provide. If you hadn't have loss that relationship, you wouldn't have found a better one. If you wouldn't have loss that loved one, you couldn't have told your testimony to someone else going through the same ordeal.

God knows what you need before you ask. But, it is within His will how He works it out. He can revive any dead situation in your life even if you think it's too late. Trust Him! Have faith in Him! Believe in Him even if you think your situation is dead.