May your ways be known throughout the earth,
….your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God.
….Yes, may all the nations praise you. Psalm 67:2-3 NLT
John 11:17-37 (<<click here to read the passage)
One of the hardest things for some people in life is to be truly honest with others. Some people don’t care at all about hurting someone with what they say, but many care so much that they sometimes don’t say what really needs saying. Then there are instances when we aren’t intentionally offensive when we answer honestly, but that is what ends up happening.
A few years back, I had a woman working with me at Kohls. She was very nice and was great with customers (though a little gullible). One day we were chatting and out of the blue, she asked me how old I thought she was. (A bit of advice here, never…ever answer that question!) I guessed about ten years older than myself, and she about hit the roof! Here we were just about the same age! I was shocked and she was pretty steamed. (Honestly, because of some of her life choices, she looked older – a fair amount more wizened, if you will.)
We have to be careful, in some instances, how straightforward we are with other people.
But there’s one person who can take whatever we have to say. He will never get mad. He will never storm off in a tiff. He will never stop loving us and caring for us and forgiving us. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that it is Jesus.
He purposely delaying coming to Lazarus’ aid. He knew he was sick. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, had sent Jesus a message telling Him so. But He held off. He waited. It was for a very specific, important reason but regardless of that fact, it didn’t mean Mary and Martha weren’t hurt by it all.
It’s interesting that in both the New Living Translation and the Amplified Bible, first Martha, and later Mary, say the exact same thing to Jesus when he finally gets to Bethany where Lazarus has now been in the grave for four days!
“Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” vs21, 32
It’s a pretty straightforward statement, don’t you think?
But was Jesus offended? No. Did He fire right back at them? No.
He spoke words of hope and promise to Martha and seeing Mary’s weeping He took action (…but more about that tomorrow.)
We need not hold back our questions and concerns. There’s no reason to reign in our anger, doubts, and frustrations. Jesus can take it. He has very broad shoulders and can handle absolutely anything we lay on Him. He can bear the weight of the yoke he shares with us. He tells us so in Matthew 11:28-30 – and it is still applicable today.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” NLT
Don’t hesitate…go to Him…he can handle whatever you have to give Him.
Aug 4th, 2021, Wed, 10:12 pm
