Lazarus, a friend of Jesus had gotten gravely ill and he had two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus was in another town and the sisters sent a message to Jesus telling Him, "Lord, your dear friend is very sick." But Jesus did not come immediately and he stayed on for two more days in the town he was ministering in. Then, he said to His disciples, "Let's go back to Judea." But Lazarus died and they buried him and Jesus said a very curious statement in verses 14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now, you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”
This statement is curious I think because it is like Jesus was wanting the effect to be so centered in His power as a way to really bring those disciples into a deeper belief in Him. Mary and Martha did not see the whole point Jesus was making here and Martha scolded Jesus for not being there when needed. Jesus said to Martha that Lazarus will rise again, and then He made the statement we all hold to when He said 25 "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
My question for all believers is this "Do you believe Jesus is who He says He is?" Then call out to Jesus and He will come through. Ignore Him and you are on your own!! The flip side of not relying on Jesus is no power in your walk. I think we have sometimes put a spiritual "neutral" in thinking about our spiritual walk. In neutral you know we tend to think we aren't going in drive or reverse. Remember, in neutral if there is any slope we will begin to drift either forward or backward. Of course, I am leaving out the ability to "brake" in this illustration. The draw or "slope" of the landscape of life will always tilt to the worldly way of thinking and living and that is why we need to keep moving forward in our walk and keep this life in "drive." We are only able to do this by deepening our understanding of God's Word and developing our relationship with Jesus through prayer. How many prayers?" Paul said to the church to pray without stopping, so you can figure it out from there. There is no spiritual "neutral" in our walk. Jesus said this in Matthew 12:30 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
For some reason that is flawed, there is a growing tendency in the modern-day church to do what we do without Jesus leading us. I was talking to a group of "ministers" about this very thing when discussing some of the modern issues in the church and I told them "if we just let Jesus take over it will all be fixed." After some uncomfortable confused looks at me I sat back down and shut up. These guys had come to the conclusion that a "program" could fix things and didn't even consult Jesus in the Word of God!! I was floored! Christianity is not Christianity without Jesus....Christ!
Perhaps we have grown out of the very covering given to us by God and that is Jesus. You may say "But a physical Jesus is not present and accounted for" and you would be right, but Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, who is Jesus. Now you see why we need to be filled with the Spirit because we are being filled with Jesus. I don't necessarily know why Jesus didn't come at once and heal His friend, Lazarus of his sickness, but I do know that Jesus raised him from the dead, and that works for me, and apparently for Lazarus. The unconventional means by which Jesus may not be understood but they are more powerful we can come up with. Just because Jesus doesn't do things like we think He should, don't despair, He is still moving and still powerful. When Jesus shows up things get done and our reliance should be magnified more and more every day.
If you are trying to figure out something without consulting the Word of God and the Holy Spirit you will fall way short of finding the truth. The truth of God will set you free! Jesus said this in John 8:31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” If you aren't trusting in Jesus and His truth then you are in bondage and you need to be set free from whatever has made you quit trusting Jesus. You can guarantee that the devil is behind all of it. Flee, flee, flee!!
Where is Jesus? He is right here, and right now. You can rely on Him. God is an ever-present help and the Psalmist says this in Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. 3 Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! Tap into that reality and let Jesus be your focus and your power to move forward in your walk. He is ready to resurrect your faith right now!!
The Pilgrimage Continues
David Warren
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