Day 164: Trusting Patiently

Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  John 11:40

Don't we all need to remember this message more?

It is so easy for us to turn to fear whenever things in our lives get tough.  When we are out of a job, or if we are facing some conflicts with our families or friends, we might try to go straight to stressing out about the situation and fearing for the future.  Rather than comforting ourselves, our response only serves to harm us more.  We end up turning away from our faith and even downright cursing God whenever we start to rely on fear.

I'm certain that we all enjoy having instant results for everything we do (just look at where our feats of technology have brought us in that regard).  However, when we live our lives with such a fast pace, we start to think that everything should be moving quickly; or, conversely, we think that things that take time are faulty.  Just taking a look at practically any passage from the books of Samuel, Kings, or Chronicles will show how the nations of Israel and Judah were struggling with that.  When things didn't go quickly for them, they turned away from God and went to other idols.  In the same way, we will start to turn to idols.  We will start to throw money at our problems as if that will save us.

But Jesus has told us time and again, if you would believe you would see the glory of God.  How many times have there been miracles in your life?  I can count so many.  I was born into a family that supports me in all my endeavors.  My family loves me for who I am.  I have great friends in my life.  I have been supported throughout my school and as I transition into having a full-time job.  God has provided so much for me, and I witness God's glory in every aspect of my life.  When I start to fear or turn away, it is because I no longer want to see God in every situation.  Rather than trusting in God, I would rather trust in other things.  But God is the only one who will set things straight in my life.  When we believe, we see the glory of God all over our lives.

Day 163: God's Control

When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  John 11:4

Here's a message that we need to hear in every struggle in our lives.

One thing about illness is that it always brings about the prospect of death.  As soon as we hear about any ailment, be it cancer or a boil, we start to think about death and what it means to us.  We might start to think about what will happen to our family and friends when we depart.  We might think about our own faith, is there life after death?  Does death hurt?  Now, John is not explicit about the illness that Lazarus had, but it definitely was something that assured his family and friends that his death was eminent.  As a way to reassure Martha and Mary, Jesus tells them the above quote.

For me, death is a rude idea because it means that everything comes to an end, whether things are finished or not.  Taking this into consideration, I can think about how to apply Jesus' reassurance to other aspects of my life.  As I grow up, I see that things start to settle into routines.  I have observed different people among my family and friends who have jobs that they stick with for so long, doing the same things every day.  I find people doing the exact same exercises, never gaining or losing weight.  I see people playing instruments but never seeming to get better or worse.  I find many people looking at things that must have been their dreams at first and finding those same great feats to become mundane and even annoying or boring.

Anytime that I read through the Gospels, I quickly realize that Jesus was not one for stagnant routines.  Jesus calls us to take up our things and continue to work preaching the Gospel.  Jesus demonstrated this by being on the move, never settling in one place, and working constantly.  In the same way, we have to be prepared to continue on with our lives, learning new things, going into new environments to preach the Gospel.  The reassurance we need for these situations is that Jesus is going to be glorified in everything that we do, so long as we believe.

Taking on a new job or learning something new, or going through a new struggle is something that we will face, and it will be frightening.  However, when we know that God is in control, we will succeed, for God will be glorified through our courage.