Delay Doesn't Always Mean Denial

John 11:1-6

¹Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. ³So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick." When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." ⁵Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

I don't know about you, but I like immediate answers. I like to have things on my time-table. I guess a good way to describe myself and most of humanity is that "I want what I want, when I want it!" Of course, we all have to grow up and out of this toddler-like mindset, but every once and a while it surfaces.

Most likely, when the messenger went back to Mary and Martha with the message that "this sickness will not end in death", Lazarus was already dead. Therefore this message had to have been hard for them to understand and could have possibly even caused them to doubt who they believed Jesus was. Most likely, they would have believed that Jesus and therefore, God had denied their request to save their brother's life. However, they were wrong.

A lesson that God has taught me in the last week is that delay doesn't always mean denial. Sometimes we have to wait for God, but we can rest assured that God hears us and always has our best in mind. But, even more than our best, He has His Glory in mind. Everything He does is for His Glory. He allowed Lazarus to die so that He could raise him from the dead and bring glory to God. Sometimes He allows us to wait because there are eternal things at stake that will ultimately bring Him glory.

This week, we got some of the tests results on our son Caleb. All of his tests results have come back normal so far, but we had to wait an extra 36 hours to get those results!! The nurse was looking at them yesterday morning and would not tell me what they were because the doctor had not seen them. I obviously thought the results were bad and waited for his phone call all day. At 6 pm last night, the nurse called to tell me the results were normal. The first thing out of my mouth was "Praise the Lord!" I spent the entire day praying and relying on God. If I had found the results out earlier, I might not have spent the day with Him. He is teaching me daily that He is my refuge no matter what happens.

Next time you are waiting on God, number one, please know you are not alone. And number two, know that just because He doesn't respond on your time table does not mean that He is denying your request. Continue to seek Him, His will, and ultimately His glory.

Bold and Courageous

"But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it." Numbers 14:24

When we found out that our second child was going to be a boy, we were thrilled. We truly wanted our first son to have a brother, and we continue to hope and pray that they will remain close as they grow. The name that I believed the Lord was giving us for this child was 'Caleb'. 'Caleb' means "bold and courageous" and that is exactly where I was in my walk with the Lord. He had brought me through a time of trial, and I came through knowing that no matter what might come my way in this life, He was never going to leave me therefore I could face tomorrow with courage.

Although I believed this was the name for our son, I did have some doubts because some of our family members did not like his name. Imagine that! But, I continued to seek God and look for our new son's life verse. Numbers 14:24 was the verse the Lord gave me, and it became our prayer for Caleb.

God did not have to give me any further confirmation that this was truly the name He had for our son, but because He is good and does more for us than we ask or seek, He did. As I was preparing Caleb's birth announcements I realized that he was born at exactly 2:24 pm. In military time that is 14:24. So on his birth certificate and several other documents it is recorded as 14:24 which is the reference of his life verse - Numbers 14:24.

This week I saw the boldness and courage that the Lord is building in Caleb. Because of some health issues, he is having to have some tests run. One of the tests required blood being drawn from his arm. Of course, this is no big deal for an adult, but for a 3 year old, that can be pretty traumatic. But, Caleb sat in my lap, held out his arm, watched the tech the entire time, and breathed in and out. He never jerked, cried, yelled, or anything. Afterward, he said, "I was very brave". I said, "yes, you were very brave." Praise God for giving us what we need exactly when we need it.

I pray that we can face the coming days with the boldness and courage I have seen in our son. God tells us "do not be afraid" many, many times in the Bible. Whatever you are facing today, be bold and courageous, knowing that God is with you.