"Do you believe this?"

The Spirit of God stirred within my soul today, as I read John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (NIV)

Whew. Do I believe that? Really believe that?  Without hesitation, I responded. Yes! Yes, of course! God You are the Resurrection and the Life. Yes, I believe one day You will return. In my death, I believe You will resurrect me to eternal life with You! My response resembled Martha's in John 11:23-27 when, "Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." And " Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

But Jesus had something different in mind. He would bring back to life not just in the eternal, but in the immediate! Oh...my soul craves this kind of hope! I don't want to hold on to a one-day, distant kind of hope...but a bonafide miracle in the now! As I read further, I couldn't escape the hidden truths contained within this story.

First, before the miraculous there was death. There was no mistaking Lazarus was gone. He was dead. Buried for 4 days. Mary couldn't bring Lazarus back. No medical attention could heal him. He was GONE! Some of us are in that place right now. That place of complete desolation. That place where no one can provide, heal, or restore...EXCEPT GOD!

As I read further, a second part stood out: Mary and Martha grieved and felt great pain and loss. They mourned the loss of their brother. In John 11:32-44, Mary took her pain to Jesus saying, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

"IF!" What a power-packed word. If you had been here...If only I hadn't...If only they would...My heart felt an immediate connection with Mary's. I sense an abandoned trust in this statement. Not accusation. Just a bewildered I wish you would have been here...then this wouldn't have happened. Today, I am painfully aware, not only personally, but through your stories as well, that many of us have feel great loss...bewildered by our broken dreams...shattered relationships...and destroyed hopes...If only God had been present... then ...

Which brought me to my third thought: With God NOTHING is impossible. Furthermore, He is moved with compassion and weeps with us. "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept." ..."Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. Then Jesus ..."called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" And, "The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face." (John 11:33-44, NIV)

Friend, what impossibilities do you face today? God is able.
 
He s a miracle working God. Nothing is impossible for Him. The question remains, "Do you believe this?"

True--God is Sovereign. True--He doesn't always give us what we want. But...He is good. He is faithful. And, He invites us to trust Him in the impossible. He encourages us to rest in Him. To ask Him for what we need...
 
Matthew 7:7-11, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (NIV)
 
Don't know about you, but I think I'm gonna spend a little extra time in prayer today! Hope you'll join with me!