“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”
OBSERVATION
Jesus is angry in His spirit because the people, including Martha, can neither understand nor comprehend His power and assignment. They had Lazarus' dead body inside a grave decomposing, but Jesus insists to open the grave and expose it. Martha's main concern is the smell. She doesn't want to deal with it! It's unpleasant and uncomfortable. She resisted the Lord's command and protested. But eventually Jesus got what he wanted. There was truly a stench inside that grave, but His power was more than able to restore that was decaying. Jesus was able to bring life and hope where there was death and despair.
APPLICATION
Sometimes before a miraculous act of God we must be willing to expose what is rotting. Many of us we cannot experience the amazing miracles of God because we are like Martha, we resist and protest the unpleasant act of uncovering the smell of decay around our lives. Sometimes our secret sins or our most embarrassing issues are kept hidden for no one else to know about. We tapper wear them hoping for them to go away. But unless we expose them and deal with them in the open, they will remain in our hearts advancing the decay.
What amazes me about this story is the way John reveals what was going on inside Jesus' heart. The Lord felt angry to the point of crying. It really bothers Him when we lack faith in His power to deal effectively with the stench around our lives. It bothers Him when we protest dealing with them and when we insist in leaving things the way they are because we want to avoid the uncomfortable. As I walk with Christ and grow in my relationship with Him, this issue becomes more and more important. I need to let Jesus deal with the decay and bad smell because He will make something amazing out of what stinks in my life.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father, there are somethings that are hidden in a grave in my heart that if uncovered, they will certainly stink. I cannot fool myself any longer. I need to let you deal with it. And even though I'm scared and fearful of what the unpleasant smell can do in me and others around me, what I fear the most making you angry and disappointed. I want to honor you, put my hope and faith in you alone, because you can effectively deal with the things that stink in me. Give me the boldness to open those graves and give me the courage to trust in your mighty work. you alone can bring hope and life in those areas. Do what you have to do in me. Amen!
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