God’s Hope for Your Heart from John 11
SOMETIMES GOD DELAYS BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU
Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. (John 11:5-6, HCSB)
Notice what this passage doesn’t say.
It doesn’t say, “Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus, BUT when He heard he was sick He was unavoidably detained for two more days.” It doesn’t say, “Jesus loved them, but UNFORTUNATELY He was delayed for two more days.” What it says is that Jesus loved His friends, SO He stayed where He was for two more days.
Jesus chose to delay His answer, their joy, and Lazarus’ healing, not because He didn’t love them, but because He did. He delayed, not because He didn’t want to bless them, but because He was preparing a greater blessing than they could have even imagined.
Maybe the reason you’re still waiting for an answer to your prayer isn’t that Jesus is blowing you off, but that like Martha and Mary and Lazarus, He’s building a better answer for you that’s just around the corner.
Maybe instead of answering this minute, God is amplifying the miracle He’s about to do in your life!
Hang in there. Don’t lose hope. Keep holding on in faith, and as you do, may you rest in the hope of this truth: sometimes God delays because He loves you.
-Pastor Phillip
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