I attend a weekly ladies’ Bible study. We’re looking at John and it’s something I eagerly look forward to each week. The time in the Word is wonderful, but so is the time spent with women who can bare their souls to one another.
This week we’re on the death of Lazarus. Jesus has come–four days late–because he’s heard that Lazarus is sick. And here’s the thing that strikes me about this chapter. Although Jesus was about to perform a significant, mind-altering, earth-shaking miracle. He was sad.
John 11:33 says, “When Jesus saw her (Mary) weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” Then, of course, there’s the one verse we all have committed to memory–verse 35–Jesus wept.
So here’s what this says to me: Jesus didn’t like waiting, either. He was sad that people he cared about were sad. He was sad that his friend Lazarus had to be sick and die in order to be raised from the dead. I think Jesus would have liked to rush to his friend’s bedside and heal him. But that wasn’t the plan. The plan required them all to WAIT.
And that’s the thing about waiting. We’re often waiting for something better. I could marry the first man who tickles my fancy. OR I could wait for the right man. I could take the first job that comes along. OR I could wait for the job I’m called to. I could hound and harass agents and editors until someone agrees to publish my books. OR I could wait to develop the craft and find the right agent and editor.
I can try to make something happen. OR I can wait for the God-thing to happen. Jesus could have healed Lazarus. But he waited for the opportunity to perform a miracle that has changed lives for more than 2,000 years.
Waiting, when God asks me to do it, is always, always worth it. Always.