Passage:

1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

4When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Paraphrase:

There was a sick man that Jesus knew who was the brother of Martha and Mary. They lived in Bethany. This Mary was the one who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil and wiped his feet with her hair. It was her brother that was sick. The sisters sent word to Jesus: “Lord, Lazuras, one that you love is sick. Come quick!”

When Jesus heard that, He said: “ That which he is suffering from won’t lead to death but instead to the glory of God, that the son of God may be glorified through it.”

Principle:

God allows certain things to happen so that we can learn more about Who Jesus is. Our greater reliance on God comes often when times are hard or difficult.

Even though Jesus loved them all, He made decisions based on what would bring the most glory to God.

Ponder:

Is there something happening in your life that is hard or difficult right now that you don’t understand?

Does it seem that it is taking God a long time to respond to your requests? What can you do? How is your faith in this moment?

Are you pursuing God’s glory through it all?

Practice:

Give God glory regardless of the situation.

Trust God even when I don’t understand why.

Remember that all prayers aren’t answered the way I want them to be but for God’s glory.

All things don’t end the way they seem they are going to end.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I know you love me and the people around me. I pray that I would have the heart and mind of Christ. Help me to trust you in every situation. Give me faith to believe that you will always do the right thing for me. Help me when times are tough to trust you even more. Help me to trust you with the people I love and know that you love them more than I do. Be glorified in me today and through my situations today.