John 11:34-45

Good morning, everyone!
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John 11:34-45
And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”
Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

This little story is all about belief. First the Jews questioned--"couldn't He have kept Lazarus from dying?" Then Martha questioned--"are You sure You want to do that, Jesus? By now, the body stinks"--and Jesus patiently reminded her of their earlier conversation. And then Jesus raised the dead and a lot of those who had doubted now believed.
I think my favorite part, though, is Jesus' prayer. Have you ever heard someone praying and known that they were actually talking to *you*? Like when my dad would pray at family devotions when I was a kid, and we'd be wiggling or whispering or whatever and he'd throw in a sentence like this: "And I pray that You'll help the kids to be still and pay attention." (By the way, those prayers always seemed to work amazingly well. :D) Well, I think Jesus' prayer here is rather similar to that. “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” It doesn't get much more direct than that! Jesus wanted to make sure the people standing around knew where His power came from. He wasn't just some "good teacher" or "prophet" who happened to be able to raise the dead. His power, His authority even over death, came straight from God Himself. If He had that God-given authority over death, shouldn't He have authority over life--our lives?

Father, You are sovereign, not just in theory but in reality. You orchestrate the entire universe, yet You wait for me to yield to Your authority in my life. Well, I am Yours--completely and unreservedly!

May the Lord bless you richly as you trust in His sovereign authority!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website