BELIEVEST THOU THIS?

Recently, I heard a brother share some verses from John 11 - the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. I was struck all over again by this amazing story, but the more I thought about it later, the more I was impressed by its relevance for me today.

We talk a lot about the spiritual warfare that we are engaged in as Christians.  We understand that our battle is not against flesh and blood foes, but against principalities, powers, and spiritual darkness in high places that seek to destroy us, and our testimony for Christ.  We face opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil, but our focus must never be on trying to survive against such formidable enemies by our own strength, grit, or determination.  You see, our real battle is to believe.  The Apostle Paul told Timothy to, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called."  (1 Timothy 6:12)  Later, he testified that, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."  (2 Timothy 4:7)  Paul understood, and wanted all who read his words to understand, that every enemy that would rise against them has already been defeated by Christ Jesus.  When He cried out on the cross, "It is finished," it truly was!  Every doubt, every fear, every temptation, He has overcome, along with every demon that hell can produce.  Our fight, though, is to believe it, and stand upon what God has said and done.  Everything around us screams for us to believe what we see, feel, or have known in the past, but God insists that we believe what we can't see, feel, or have ever experienced before.   

After Lazarus' death, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived.  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, and said to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  (John 11:21,22 NKJV)  Jesus, knowing what God intended to do, said to Martha, "Your brother will rise again."  (v. 23)  Martha responded by saying, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  (v. 24)   

Many of us would find no fault with Martha's faith.  She believed that Jesus had power to heal, and could have helped her brother before he died.  She believed that Jesus had power with God, and that God would grant Him whatever He asked in the future.  Martha also believed in the ultimate resurrection of the dead, and that her dead brother would rise again at the end of the world.  This would satisfy many Christians theology, but not Jesus'.  His next words to her were compelling.  He said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die."  (vs. 25,26 KJV)  And then, very pointedly, He asked, "Believest thou this?"  He wanted Martha to see beyond the possible and the probable, and believe what seemed impossible.

Our faith must always be relevant to the now.  It doesn't matter what we believe God could have done, or what He may do in some nebulous future time; it is most vital that we believe what He is speaking to us today, and that we are really hearing what He is saying.  "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.'"  (Hebrews 3:7,8a NKJV)  When God speaks to us, the only real question becomes, "Do you believe this?"  The focus must always be on Jesus.  He is the resurrection, and He is the life.  He breathes hope and power into our otherwise hopeless lives.  He is the One Who is able to change our circumstances, and raise up what we have pronounced as dead.

When Jesus came to the grave, He told them to remove the stone from the mouth of the sepulcher.  Martha protested at this saying,   "Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days."  (v. 39)  There are many areas of our lives that we need the resurrection life manifested.  We may have buried them deep, and rolled a stone over them, but God knows where "all the bodies are buried."  He knows our hurts, fears, doubts, resentments, bitterness, and sin.  One thing's for sure, though; the longer we leave them buried, the more they are going to stink!   It's the "stinking" things in our life that we need God's help with.  It's the dead things that we need brought to life, and Jesus is the Life.  He will heal our spirit and make us whole.  He will transform us in ways that we thought were hopeless.

Jesus told Martha, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  (v. 40)

God's greatest desire is that His glory be revealed in us through His Son Jesus Christ, and He will reveal that glory in all His children who believe in the Son.  It may not always be God's will to raise the dead, or deliver us from a trial of faith.  He may choose to let us walk through the valley of the shadow of death for a time, or to bear some thorn in our flesh.  God's will may lead us through cruel persecution, or seemingly unbearable heartache, but never doubt that your Father loves you and knows what He's doing in your life.  The ultimate example of faith, aside from Christ, was Job when he proclaimed in the midst of his sufferings, "Though God slay me, yet will I trust Him."  In the end, Job was blessed beyond measure, and God was glorified.  We may not always understand God's ways, but we can forever be assured that His ways are right, and that He is working everything for our good.  "Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed."  (Hebrews 12:12,13)  It is in Jesus that we find strength in our weakness, and new life where we have only experienced death.  Mary and Martha's brother was restored to them that day, but if the Spirit of Him Who raised Christ from the dead dwell in you, He will also quicken your mortal bodies so that you can walk in newness of life.