The Plan

Now a man was sick, Lazarus, from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, and it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.) So the sisters sent a message to Him: "Lord the one You love is sick." When Jesus heard it, He said, "This sickness will not end in death but is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So  that when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. John 11:1-6

Jesus here has friends, friends who He cares deeply for. He had normal relationships, He was able to love and enjoy friends. The picture portrayed of Jesus is that of one removed from the normal mainstream of life. Perhaps this family had been friends with Him for a long while. We think that He probably got to know the family through Mary, who was the prostitute who was brought before Jesus to be condemned to death. However, what if they all knew one another for longer?

Verse 6 is interesting. Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus, and so He stayed two more days. Usually if we receive word that a dear friend is deathly ill we go at once, but Jesus had a plan.

In our lives, and all that happens, we like to think that God will come when we pray and set us free, heal our wounds but this is not always the case. I can hear people say; 'Doesn't God care?' Yet in the above passage we see that because He cared He stayed. Interesting!

Perhaps we too will have to go through the 'valley of the shadow of death'. It does not mean He has forgotten us, failed to care about us, or does not have a plan. He has! A greater plan than we could hope or dream, one that will bring glory to God! Amen! Don't lose heart or turn away, wait for your miracle. Amen!