Scripture: John 11.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

John 11:33-39 (NLT)

33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.

34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Then Jesus wept.

36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”

37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance.

39 “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.”

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I believe that there are two ways that one could interpret verse 36. In one instance it looks like the people may have been mocking that Jesus didn’t love Mary, Martha and Lazarus enough to immediately come and save Lazarus from dying, yet in another sense they may have been drawing attention to the fact that Jesus really loved Lazarus so much that it hurt Him to know that Lazarus actually passed away from that life or their presence. Regardless of this friends, my heart was drawn to the fact that Jesus loved these folk so much that it stirred His heart to see the sisters hurting, and to know that the brother had left the world of the living. This, I believe, shows us that Jesus is still concerned about His children even today. When a child of the King is saddened by the impending death of a loved one due to cancer, I’m sure that Jesus is also saddened and wants to reach in and make it all better for us. When a parent is saddened by the events and actions of a child that they (the parents) worked so hard at bringing up in the right way and introduced them to Jesus as they should have, I believe that Jesus is saddened because He would rather see none perish. Friends, regardless of the awesome job that we may do in raising our kids, it is ultimately their personal decision to accept Jesus as Lord and to allow Him to rule and reign in their lives. My point here is that Jesus really loves us so much that He not only died so that we may have eternal life with Him and the Father, but He is also concerned about our everyday hurts or sadness or disappointments. Think about it, we become troubled when our kids are saddened or disappointed, imagine all the more that our heavenly Father cares for us? The situations that we find ourselves in, or the challenges that we sometimes face may seem very smelly to us at times, but as children of God, be reminded today that Jesus cares a lot about us. It stirs His heart to see us hurt. Therefore, let’s be determined today to surrender our cares to Him, and if, as in the case of Lazarus, Jesus sees our situation as an opportunity for God to receive glory, He will work in miraculous ways. He really loves us friend!

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Thank You for loving me so much that You gave everything so that I may look forward to life eternally with You. Thank You for reassuring me today that You do not ignore the times that I am saddened by the events of this life or the times that events may not always go the way that I feel they should go. Lord, I pray that You will give me strength to look full into Your wonderful face and give You praise for ALL that You allow me to walk through here in this life. Because of Your love for me, I know that every little thing is gonna be alright!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
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