Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus. John tells us that straight-out. He had history with that family. He loved to visit them and dine with them. He cared for them. That’s a key to this entire story.

You see, when Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother was sick, they must have assumed He would come running. It only makes sense. Jesus had the power to heal Lazarus – their was no question in their minds He COULD do it. And Jesus loved His friend – their was no doubt in their minds He WOULD do it. So imagine how confused they were when every day brought Lazarus closer to death ... and still there was no sign of Jesus.

Most Christians have been there, at least to some degree. How many of us have breathed a desperate prayer from a hospital room, or an accident scene, or a bedside, or from our desk at work – praying for God to intervene in some desperate moment? Things look dire, and we need help. We know God loves us, and we know God is able, so how confusing and frustrating when He doesn’t show up like we expected. In those moments, we might be tempted to accuse God of abandoning us, or of not loving us – but notice in this story, there is something else going on.

One of the nice things about Scripture is that it doesn’t hide the fact that sometimes even Godly people struggle to understand God. Sometimes He made wait for days, or months, or even years to receive an answer to their prayers. Other times, the answer was just “NO.” Read through Scripture and you’ll find that God said “no” to Moses and God said “no” to David and God said “no” to Paul.

In fact, when you can think about it, God said “no” to Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me,” but God said “no.” Jesus emerged from the Garden of Gethsemane submissively saying, “Not My will but yours be done.” Aren’t you glad God didn’t answer that prayer?

Listen, if God doesn’t give you the desires of your heart, you need to accept that His ways are better than your ways. That’s part of faith - trusting that He wants what’s best for you. There could be many reasons that you don’t get the answer you want from your prayer, but none of them change that fact. God cares what is happening in your life. Your prayers matter to Him.

In this case, Jesus had a better plan for Lazarus than even Mary and Martha had for him. They wanted their brother to get well. Jesus wanted to use him to glorify God – a privilege I’m sure Lazarus loved! In a similar way, God can use each one of us – even our tough situations – for His glory. He is always working; always moving; always active – and He sees past the immediacy of the moment to something eternally good. Oh, and don’t forget – He loves us!