Devotions this week are based on Week 5 Temptation to Triumph: Tears: Hope for the Hurting (WATCH HERE)
John 11:1-6 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was the same Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair.
3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one you love is sick!”
4 When Jesus heard it, he said, “This sickness is not going to result in death, but it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed in the place where he was two more days.
There are moments in life when things simply do not make sense. In John 11, the story begins with urgency. Lazarus is sick, and his sisters send word to Jesus with a simple expectation. Surely He will come. Surely, He will act. Yet the response of Jesus is unexpected. He delays. The one who has the power to heal chooses to wait.
This delay is not because of indifference. The text is clear that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. His love is not in question, but His timing is. This is where tears begin to confuse us. We struggle when what we know about God does not seem to match what we are experiencing. If He loves us, why does He wait? If He cares, why does He not act sooner?
Psalm 27:14 encourages us. “Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord!”
Waiting is not passive. It is an active trust that God is doing something even when we cannot see it. Jesus reveals in this moment that His delay is purposeful. He says that this situation is for God’s glory. Again Jesus is going to take what looks like a setback to actually be a setup for something greater.
In our lives, confusion often becomes the doorway to deeper faith. When we cannot rely on our understanding, we are invited to rely on God’s character and promises. We begin to trust not because we see clearly, but because we know who He is.
It’s OK. If you are confused with what God is doing, bring your confusion to God. Do not pretend to understand what you do not. Trust grows when we admit our limits and lean into His wisdom. Look back over your life and remember moments when God’s timing seemed off but later proved right. Let those memories anchor your present uncertainty.
Tears may confuse us, but they are not wasted. They are often the setting in which God desires for us to see clearly his love, rest firmly in his grace and begin a deeper trust that would not grow any other way.
Reflect: Where are you struggling to understand God’s timing in your life right now? How might God be inviting you to trust Him even without clarity?
Prayer: Lord, I confess that I do not always understand what You are doing. Your timing often feels confusing to me. Help me to wait with faith and not fear. Strengthen my heart to trust You even when I cannot see the outcome. Teach me to rest in Your wisdom and love. Amen.