When God Disappoints Us – And He Will!

When God Disappoints Us!

We so want someone to blame for our broken hearts and our life moments that are discouraging.  Martha and Mary were two such people.  Their story is found in John 11.  If you are a Bible student you have heard this story before.  Lazarus, their brother and very close friend of Jesus was not expected to live.  He was in serious physical trouble and Martha and Mary did what they only knew to do – send for Jesus.  He could help.  They knew He loved Lazarus and would get to him as soon as He got the word.

This is where they ran into trouble. Not because they did not have faith – they did.  They honestly believed that if Jesus could get to Lazarus He could raise him off his death-bed.  That my friend is faith in action!  They believed in Jesus!  They believed He could heal their brother!  They prayed – ie: they requested the help of Jesus.  They did everything right.  When Jesus got word that Lazarus was ill and close to death – He didn’t drop what He was doing and respond immediately.  He didn’t even send and team ahead to prepare an atmosphere of faith prior to His being with Lazarus personally.  Matter of fact – the only thing Jesus did do was extremely controversial – He waited two more days.  Unbelievable!  Can you imagine?

You see I have sat with families who have lost their loved ones to a disease.  I have held the hands of family members who had faith, prayed and did everything spiritually right only to see a loved one die or a crisis prayer go seemingly unanswered.  It is very difficult to have the right words to say.

I have heard the remarks of Martha and Mary repeated in a moment of disappointment and even expressed anger with God.  Why?  If you “had been here” is as good as “where was He” or “why did’t He answer?”  You see God has and will disappoint us from time to time.

I have discovered that there is a little Martha and Mary in all of us.  We have had those moments where we find the boldness to question God’s motives.  I have those troubling days when like John the Baptist from his prison cell questioned, “Are you the One or should I look for another?”  These life challenging and faith challenging moments are not easy.

I believe the Lord hesitates in answering our way sometimes to prove the picture to us.  The greater purpose in the delay for Lazarus was obviously resurrection life.  The greater miracle was resurrection life – not healing.  Jesus was giving us evidence to say that the “greater healing” was to allow death to finish its earthly course so that He could perform His heavenly and Kingdom purpose.  Sometimes we just don’t get what God is up to.

I watched my mother take her las breath and leave her and arrive at her celestial home.  Her heavenly home.  It wasn’t easy.  As a pastor I have watched quite a few saints pass from here to eternity.  But when you stand there helpless and watch your mother die it is a different sense, a different feeling.  Mom was 83.  She was a woman of faith.  She was a fighter.  She was tired, worn and weary.  I spoke with her on the phone the evening she died.  As a matter of fact I was talking to her when she was in the beginning stage of the massive stroke which took her life.   Why didn’t God answer our prayers?  Why didn’t He heal her?  Why?  The hidden agenda of Martha and Mary surfaced.  It was just about as ugly as it was nearly 2000 years ago when Martha and Mary confronted Jesus.  They were angry.  Mary was so upset she didn’t want to leave the house.  They both spoke sharply to the Lord.  I have had mixed emotions over their questions for some time.  Did they make their “if you had been” statements out of a limited faith?  Did they make the statement because they were ticked off at Christ?  Did they make the statement to bring some sense of guilt to Christ?  Make him feel bad about himself?  I can’t see Jesus with an identify crisis – can you?

He hesitated to teach them about the bigger picture. He sees what we can’t see and He knows what we don’t know.  He is the Bigger Picture!  He was resurrection and life.  He didn’t just show up late to be a healer – He showed up to prove He was THE resurrection and the life.  He raised Lazarus from the dead to prove Himself to these two sisters and the onlookers.  His point in not answering their prayer to heal Lazarus? Easy.  The greater healing is resurrection life.  This is not a “cop out” on faith.  This is reality.  My mom received her ultimate healing – resurrection life.  She went from the reception of the promise of eternal life when she got saved as a little girl to the manifestation of celestial life when she died.  Faith was present for both.

When you have questions about the whereabouts of God just be reminded that He is the ultimate Provider.  He IS the resurrection and the life.  He may not show up to heal our way because the bigger picture is the awesomeness of resurrection life.  He himself is life.  He himself is resurrection.  When you know Him you know the ultimate healer.  Lazarus was raised to die again.  We will be raised in eternal life to never die again.  The next time Lazarus faced death Jesus would have already died and ascended to the throne.  But because Lazarus experienced resurrection life  he was well ready for eternal life.  Resurrection life.  He is life.  He is our resurrection hope.  Disappointed with God?  Grab hold of the bigger picture and know that He is working all things to our good.  He really is.