In The House Of MiserySample

Never Give Up On God 

John 11 starts with the news of Lazarus being ill.

The home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus was a well-visited home by Jesus. This was a place where Jesus could unwind— a place to relax. He was very close to them. Hence, when Lazarus became ill, the first thing they did was to inform Jesus about it.

Mary and Martha did not specifically ask Jesus to come and heal Lazarus. They felt they did not need to and that it was enough to simply tell Jesus what the problem was. That’s simple faith. 

This is indeed a good practice to do. When we go through any difficult situation in life, the first thing we need to do is come to the Lord in prayer. In fact, it is good to always be in communication with Him about everything.

There seems to be a suggestion of surprise in the word "behold." But they need not and should not have been surprised. It may be that Mary and Martha, knowing as little of God's ways at this point in their lives as many Christians seem to know today, were surprised that someone whom Jesus loved could be sick.

We also see that they did not talk about how much Lazarus loves Jesus, but they said “the one you love is sick”. The basis of the appeal was that Jesus loved them. That is, it was in God's love rather than in the love of man that they took refuge. 

There is no comfort in the reverse. If our appeal is on the basis of how much we love Jesus, we will always fall short.

We must remember that Jesus acts, not because we love Him, but because He loves us. So we must never give up on God.

Remember the first lesson that the Lord wants us to learn from this incident is that we should never give up on God. He has a much bigger and greater purpose for all that happens to us. 

In fact, when we pray we must remember that we are not sending breaking news to God, like a reporter on the front lines. He knows everything that has and will ever happen to us. So if He has allowed something to happen in our lives, there is a greater purpose wrapped up in it. 

He knows the end of the issue. So relax. Come to the Lord in prayer and never ever give up on Him.

Quote: “The love of Jesus does not separate us from the common necessities and infirmities of human life. Men of God are still men. The covenant of grace is not a charter of exemption from consumption, or rheumatism, or asthma.” – Spurgeon

Application Question: What is your reaction when an answer to prayer does not come right away? Do you feel as if God has forgotten you? Do you give up or persevere?

Prayer: Lord, I pray that I will never give up on You even though you do not answer my prayer immediately, because I know that You love me and always have the best for me. Amen