from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2An5BcI
via IFTTT Are you resisting God's hand? Consider Lazurus. He knew Jesus, apparently quite well. Yet when Lazarus became ill, Jesus delayed. Now sure, we know the rest of the story, but let's stay here for a minute. There is a lesson we don't want to miss! Lazurus died. Sick, hurting, suffering. God answered the prayers for health with a simple "no". Lazurus continued to suffer. Put yourself in their shoes for a moment, sick, suffering, Jesus healed all the others, but yet you get worse. Your "friend" that calmed the storm is to busy to come see you when you need Him most. God overlooks you. You suffer. Get worse. Days pass. Still worse, no word from heaven. What would you do? How would you feel? How often do we resist God's ultimate miracle by rejecting suffering? Lazurus had to get sick and die. To suffer. To have no hope. To go beyond hope, into actual death... Into "It's over" territory. If lazurus had resisted, if he had refused God's will, would the great miracle have happened? You see, Miracles arise from great suffering, from "beyond hope". If we reject the suffering, if we concentrate our prayers on "getting better", or "getting delivered", and feel rejected when nothing happens, we may miss the miracle God wants to do! Perhaps God intended to raise the dead in your life, but first... There must be death to ride from! Why would we pray "your will be done" and then complain when things go "bad"? How can God work a miracle unless a miracle is the only hope left? Suffering then, becomes the key to success! Lazurus's suffering and death served a great purpose. This event became the "last straw" for the Jewish religious leaders, the one that convinced them that Jesus had to go. There was no other way to preserve their own power but to kill Jesus. You see, lazurus's suffering for a time became a critical cog in the great machinery of salvation for the world! Do you pray for God's will to be done in your life? Do you mean it? If you do, don't be surprised if you are lead down a path of death and suffering. Rejoice! God is at work! If you have faith that His hand is on you, then relax. Let Him work His plan with you. Seek Him daily, hourly even, so that you don't miss it. But relax, rejoice, something is in the works! Our life is not about pleasure, not about confort, not even about "us" at all. Our life is about the Creator of the universe, the savior of the world. Lazurus knew this. I think that's why God picked him for this mighty miracle, this eternal moment in history. Because he was willing to suffer. Are you willing? Will you accept anything at the hand of God? Are you ok with suffering, going beyond all hope? Do you trust God? Those that trust to this point, never give up faith, they are the ones who hear... "Lazurus, come forth!'
