Janice Gaines - The Overflow DevoSample

Fall Into You

Have you ever been desperate for someone or people you love? I have six siblings, and I’m the second oldest. Some call me bossy; but I like to think of myself as concerned. As a sister, I have found it most difficult to watch my siblings go through tough times without wanting to get involved to the extreme. I remember the day God whispered to me in prayer that I wasn’t my siblings’ savior—He is. Sometimes it seems easier to trust God with ourselves than it is to trust God with people we love so dearly.

Jesus, though, proves in this story to be trustworthy in ways we couldn’t even expect. Martha was desperate for her brother, Lazarus, who was deathly ill. The unwanted and terrible outcome they had feared had finally come to a head. She probably felt powerless as Jesus approached, and she might have been flustered that He didn’t come to their rescue sooner and the way they wanted. She addressed the Lord with these emotions, and in the midst of expressing herself, she was reminded of both the power and love residing in the One to whom she was speaking. For the rest of the conversation, she let herself be soothed by the words of the One she knew was true. She surrendered to His will and found that she and her loved one(s) received more than even the good she thought they would receive.

Still today, we don’t have to hide our true feelings from Jesus. Aside from the fact that He already knows them, we don’t want to rob ourselves of having an honest conversation with the One who loves us and loves those we love more than we could possibly love them. We can truly fall into God, almost like doing a trust fall into what seems like an abyss, but is actually the largest safety net there is.

Note: Someone may notice that Mary and Martha got the outcome they wanted from Jesus that day, when sadly, many of us don’t have that experience when our own loved ones seem to be hanging in the balance. Please know that Lazarus did eventually die on earth; and Jesus’ own death and resurrection days after this particular miracle afforded Lazarus a more secure future—in Heaven. The most important miracle of salvation through Jesus is extended to us today.