That We Believe and He Be Glorified

John 11:14 KJV

Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Lazarus, with his sisters, were some of the closest people in the Bible to Jesus Christ.

Yet Lazarus got sick onto death. (Yet Jesus said is not unto death.) And not only was Jesus not there, but He did not come right away when He heard. Not only that, but He also stayed away until Lazarus had died. It was Christ's intention that Lazarus die. But it was not Christ's intention for him to stay in the grave. Jesus both promised he would rise again and then Jesus made good on that promise.

Jesus said this entire episode took place according to verse 15

And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe....

As close as we may be to Christian there are those times when we feel like we are spiritually "sick unto death." In many of those times we call out to the Lord but we sense He is so far away. We might question

• Why He is allowing this to happen
• Why He won't answer our prayers
• Why He won't draw near and help us

 But His intent is that we might believe.

• Through our spiritual illness
• Through the death of whatever would have been our dream
• Then through the promises of God and
• Through His eventual resurrection of that spiritual hope

We believe and the Son of God is glorified thereby.

Illness, the spiritual kind, is never ever pleasant. But it has the potential of such great glory after a while. Oh, that we would trust in Christ in those times!