Jesus, Where Were You?

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“Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” — John 11:21

 

Martha was probably as respectful as she possibly could be, considering that she was talking to Jesus, the Son of God.

But at the same time, you can imagine that she was a little upset.

Imagine the scenario playing out this way.

“Lord, if you had been here, we would not be going through all of this.”

“If you had come when they called for You, You could have healed Lazarus of his illness, and we would be sitting at the table enjoying a nice meal and fellowship about now. But instead, my brother is lying in a stench-filled grave, lifeless.”

“Jesus, this could have been avoided.”

Well, Martha may not have stated her claim in this manner; nonetheless, she did not hold back in expressing her feelings to The Teacher.

She was well-known for doing that.

However, in reading one sentence, we see that Martha does know that all hope is not gone. For she says, “And even though I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” (John 11: 22)

But, on the other hand, when she tells Jesus how long her brother has been dead, we get a glimpse of a slight lack of faith.

How many times have we thought or said, “Jesus, I know you can do something about this, but look at the circumstances? I know the word says there is nothing too hard for the Father, but things don’t look good right now.”

I would say to you that it’s during situations like these where Jesus does His best work. During times of hopelessness and despair is when we see Him performing the miraculous power of the Father. He takes the reality of what is and turns it around for good so that the glory of God can show forth.

Martha exclaimed, “If You had been here.”

Jesus may not have been there physically, but the Father did not allow one minute to go by without Him noticing the details of the events.

Know that when we cannot see evidence of God’s presence, He is always there. For you see, Hebrews 13:5b informs us that, “…He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And then there’s Deuteronomy 31:8 that reads, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

At one time or another, we all will have a Lazarus Experience — that is, a deadly situation that will require the word of God to bring it back to life.

And so, it was with Lazarus. He appeared to be dead, but by the word of the Lord, he received the gift of living out the remainder of his life.

We cannot let the despair of our situations cause us to lose sight of the promises of God. If He said it, it is so, and that settles it. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so, through him, the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 1:20, NIV)

So, instead of approaching Jesus, like Martha, with “If You had … then.” Rather, we should say, “I decree according to Your word …AMEN!

Today, decree that which heaven has established concerning you.

 

Join me next week for Coffee on The Couch.