READING: 2 Kings 14-15, John 11:1-27
It had to be hard. Mary and Martha loved their brother Lazarus, and now he was gone. Death had taken him from them. Now, others had gathered around them to comfort them.
Then, Jesus showed up. He came after Lazarus had already been in the grave four days, so all hope must have been gone. Martha’s statement to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died” (John 11:21) was likely more an affirmation of Jesus’ power to heal than it was a rebuke toward Him, but her grief was nonetheless real. Jesus could have healed her brother, Martha knew, even though He didn’t get there in time to do it. Martha’s further words, “Yet even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you”(John 11:22) reveal her continued faith in Him despite the fact that He did not come before now. Immediate resurrection was likely not in her mind (see 11:24), but she didn’t lose faith in Christ.
Martha reminds us that we, too, must continue to trust Christ even when His plan is different than what we had hoped. The One who is “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) is in control, and His plan is always right.
PRAYER: “Lord, help me to trust You at all times.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 2 Kings 16-17, John 11:28-57