~ FAITH ~

Sometimes certain sections of the Bible are REALLY hard to teach on, like last Sunday when we were in John 10. Not that there is no wisdom in the words to share, but it is such a well known section and has been pulled apart so much that it feels like there would be no way that the Holy Spirit would bless me with personal insight that would excite me, and how can I teach if I am not excited …

Late Saturday night He did though, just as I was getting to be OK with just sharing the standard story about Jesus being the good Shepherd and was ready to print out my notes, God illuminated a word that taught me something new and I could follow the crumbs to understand a section I’ve read so many times, from a new perspective. Awesome stuff right there!!

This week we do another old sermon favorite, Lazarus. Ugh…I thought as I sat down to start my study on it Tuesday night. I read the section and … nothing … zip … nada … nothing new or fresh or remotely exciting…

But then I read it again this morning and suddenly this section is filled with so many fine detail it blows me away – and I only got to verse 6!

Check this out:

Our story starts when Jesus gets news that someone, who is very special to Him, is ill. Ill enough that a messenger is sent with a very personal message in the hope that Jesus will come immediately. Now, as we all know, they did not have cell phones, e-mail or a postal system, so they probably sent a family member or a friend. When he (I’ll just assume it is a he) arrives, this person don’t make a big fuss about it, like I would’ve done. He didn’t run up to Jesus, grabbed Him by the arm and dragged him off to Lazarus to quickly heal him, or since it looked like Jesus was in no hurry, asked Him to do a quick “get better at this instant” prayer at least.

No, ”Lord, look, the one you love is sick.” – that’s it!

At first one may think that maybe the messenger wasn’t too bothered, or thought his job didn’t include making sure Jesus acted on the news, or … I don’t know what else he could’ve thought. It is as if he weren’t that serious about getting Jesus to Bethany or getting Lazarus healed. Deliver the message and get out … job done! The type of person that does not really get involved, exactly the kind of person you would NOT want to entrust your important message with.

But then I looked at it from a different perspective: and it is actually really impressive the amount of FAITH the messenger must have had. Informing Jesus of just the most basic facts was good enough, he didn’t need to add any of his own concerns and his point of view. He believed Jesus was in control, TOTAL CONTROL, therefore he did not need to keep pestering Him, reminding Him, making sure He understood the seriousness of the situation … not even when Jesus took His time did he ask for an “in the meantime” prayer. When Jesus said Lazarus would not die, even though Jesus never saw how sick Lazarus were first hand – and the messenger did, did he try and add information to impress on Jesus just how bad things really were. The messenger was OK with however Jesus allowed things to go, he had FAITH that Jesus had ultimate control over the bigger picture, the complete situation and even the facts the messenger did not have insight to!

…..wow…

Lord, please help me to have complete trust that, once I’ve given my problems to You, You have my back at all times !!