Rest For A Weary Soul Devotional - June 1, 2011
Praise the Lord and Good Evening,
Okay, I'm confessing tonight.....I've been slack in writing because I was afraid to write, didn't know what to write, too tired to write, it was hard....Lord, I have too much to do......no time......well, you get the picture.....soooo many reasons. Some nights I would sit down and just stare at the computer screen. Lord, You must mean for me to give this up....surely, everything has an end...is this it?
I'd been writing/reading/studying about Lazarus (yes, even still).....the Lord's been dealing with me on it so much that I have finally given up on trying to go anywhere else (I've been preaching from John 11 periodically for more than a year).....so what makes tonight different from those other nights......I've come to understand that some things come the hard way....revelation about who Jesus was and what He had power to do came the hard way for Mary, Martha and Lazarus.......Jesus heard what Mary and Martha said (and felt)......but I thank the Lord for helping me understand that He hasn't changed His Will.....the process of experiencing revelatory Word isn't always easy or pretty...but it's required (who said it's required, the Lord or He wouldn't put you through this agony)......just because the process if heavily involved and leaves you a crumpled heap on the floor, doesn't detract from what He's let you wear yourself down to see/touch/express,,,,,,
Okay, so you flipped out and foamed at the mouth because Jesus didn't show up when you thought He would....okay, so you too have a lengthy list of reasons why it shouldn't be so difficult trying to get the Lord's attention to your immediate need. Yes, He knows you're at a very intense moment and you've thrown all your hope and expectation into Him showing up when you called for Him.....
Sometimes we're asking the Lord to heal when His plan is completely different......what expectation do you have? It's a good one, right? It must be the Lord's will, right? He said call for Him, right? You called, you waited, you believed, you did your part, right? And yet, nothing? Yes, I know it's an ugly place to be in....but I've learned over the past few weeks that just because it's hard doesn't mean the Lord isn't working.....what a difficult place Mary and Martha were in and Jesus sat back knowing (you mean to tell me you knew I was going through this and didn't stop it?) Jesus had something better in store, that's why it's hard now.....a message I preached a year ago comes to mind tonight from John 11...God is going to wreck your expectation!! That's why it's so hard......so for all of those who are at the end and you're disgusted with the wait (come on now tell the truth) and wondering what is going on.....the Lord is wrecking all you thought you knew about the Lord and preparing you for a deeper revelation through His resurrecting your Lazarus....
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. (John 11:32)
Pastor Michelle Turner
