The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 20 March 2024 – Delay Is Not Denial
TOPIC: Delay Is Not Denial
READ: John 11: 1-16 (NKJV)
- Now a certain [man] was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
- It was [that] Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
- Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
- When Jesus heard [that,] He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
- Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
- So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.
- Then after this He said to [the] disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
- [The] disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You going there again?”
- Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
- “But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
- These things He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
- Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.”
- However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
- Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.
- “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”
- Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”
THE MESSAGE:
Lazarus, Mary and Martha were very close friends of Jesus in Bethany. Lazarus was sick and Jesus was informed of his predicament and one would have expected Jesus to leave all He was doing to attend to His closest friend. Alas, Jesus delayed and Lazarus died. Many wondered why Jesus would do this to His closest and most committed friends. Jesus said, “This sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God” (verse 4). This fact was not known to people who were worried that Jesus did not come but our God knew all things.
Many times, we worry in times of trouble because we do not know the mind of God. The eternal truth here is that God will never deny the prayer of His friends. Beloved, when we pray but it seems there is a delay in answers to our prayers, let us be assured that God is at work. When trouble comes, we should not grumble, complain and blame God for delayed answers, but rather we should wait patiently in prayers until our answers come. Are you depressed that your prayers have not been answered? Are you sick and it seems no solution is in sight? God is still on the throne; He will step in at his appropriate time and it will all end in praise.
PRAYER: Lord, please help me to seek You when trouble comes my way so that I can bring honour to You, Amen.
