Devotions this week are based on Week 5 Temptation to Triumph: Tears: Hope for the Hurting (WATCH HERE)
John 11:32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
Standing at the tomb, everything appears final. Lazarus has been dead for four days. The stone is sealed. The outcome seems certain. Yet Jesus speaks a command that changes everything. Lazarus, come out.
In that moment, death is not final. It is subject to the authority of Jesus. Revelation 1:17-18 declares, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” What seems ultimate to us is not ultimate to Him.
Martha hesitates when Jesus tells them to remove the stone. Her response is practical. There will be a smell. This is the reality of death. Yet Jesus invites her to trust beyond what she can see. He reminds her that belief will lead to seeing the glory of God.
This is where tears begin to convince us. We start to realize that Jesus is greater than our circumstances. He is not limited by what we consider final. His power extends beyond the boundaries we place on our situation.
In our lives, we often face moments that feel final. A relationship ends, a dream dies, a diagnosis changes everything. It is easy to believe that nothing more can be done. But Jesus reminds us that He has the final word.
Jesus invites us to shift our perspective. Instead of defining our situation by what we see, we begin to define it by who Jesus is. We trust that He is able to bring life even where there seems to be none.
This does not always mean immediate change, but it does mean that hope is never lost. Jesus is always working, even in the most final situations.
Reflect: What situation in your life feels final right now? How does knowing Jesus has authority over all things change your perspective?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are greater than anything I face. Help me to trust that what feels final is not beyond Your power. Strengthen my faith to believe in Your authority and Your ability to bring life where there is none. Amen.