PAINFUL BUT PROFITABLE REVELATION Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was (Jn 11:1-6). Could you imagine what Martha and Mary had to endure during this very painful period? We must remember that Martha and Mary were the faithful of the Lord, they ministered to His needs, cooked for Him and loved on Him. Now they have a crucial need and it appears as if their request has been denied by the Lord. It is usually at these times the voice of the enemy becomes tremendously loud in his attempt to charge our loving God with cruelty and neglect. If our emotions arent brought under subjection to the Holy Spirit at these times and our faith united in intimacy with the person of Jesus Christ we can fall for this lie and ultimately fall away. It could appear that the way the Lord did things with Martha, Mary and their beloved brother Lazarus was cruel. Can you imagine the sisters monitoring their brothers health? For sure the Lord would arise and come to their rescue and heal their brother from his sickness. But as the seconds, minutes, hours and days went by, Jesus had not come and Lazarus became worst and till eventually He died. But what Martha and Mary didnt know, Jesus KNEW! He knew that this situation which appeared to end in sorrow for that family would end in tremendous joy. You see, I have realized that our trust in God is synonymous to our faith in God. In order for faith and trust to continue growing, they must be stretched beyond there last place of stretching. In other words, in order for our trust and faith to become deeper, wider, more refined and purified, it must continue to be challenged beyond the place it was challenged in our last test. EX: If we were in one thing yesterday, we must be prepared to best tested in two things next time if our faith and trust are to deepen. This was the case with Martha and Mary. See Martha, Mary and Lazarus had all already known the Lord as a Healer, but none of them ever had the revelation of Him being the Resurrection in the Llife. Had Jesus appeared on the scene and healed Lazarus when Martha and Mary desired Him to, they may have been spared some suffering but they would have also been deprived of a deeper miraculous revelation of Who He is. Jesus delayed His coming because He didnt desire a healing, He wanted a resurrection! They already knew Him as a healer, now it was time to reveal Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. A deeper revelation of who He is will always require another level of death for us. The Vail of flesh must be destroyed in order to see the Lord more clearly Dearly beloved, do not waste your afflictions by complaining or murmuring. No matter how harsh, cruel or severe they may be, there is a deeper blessing just behind them. Revelation doesnt come by way of head knowledge, it comes through PAINFUL EXPERIENCE. What is is the Lord may be trying to reveal about Himself to you? Embrace your trial and allow the Lord to manifest Himself to you. Be encouraged.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 14:11:52 +0000
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