Key Thought

Most of us will face the long dark night of the soul when it seems as if God is absent and our prayers are nothing more than wasted breath. God doesn't respond when we want him to respond. His delay in acting seems uncaring. We can feel abandoned and unloved by the God on whom we depend and for whom we seek to live. I claim no great wisdom in understanding the how or even the why of those times. They are as varied as we are. The mystery of God's actions during those times are known only to him. However, I do know three things. First, I know we can honestly cry out and share our deepest disappointments with our Father -- after all, he gave us many Psalms that do just that. Second, I know from this story that the Lord's apparent absence is not based on a lack of love for us. Third, I know that in the end, Jesus will triumph in us and through us.

Today's Prayer

Today's Verses in Context

There was a man named Lazarus who was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany. This is the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (Mary is the same woman that later put perfume on the Lord (Jesus) and wiped his feet with her hair.) Mary's brother was Lazarus, the man that was now sick. So Mary and Martha sent a person to tell Jesus, "Lord, your dear friend Lazarus is sick." When Jesus heard this he said, "The end of this sickness will not be death. But this sickness is for the glory of God. This has happened to bring glory to the Son of God." (Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.) When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. Then Jesus said to his followers, "We should go back to Judea." The followers answered, "But teacher, those Jews in Judea tried to kill you with stones. That was only a short time ago. Now you want to go back there?" Jesus answered, "There are twelve hours of light in the day. Right? If a person walks in the day, then he will not stumble and fall. Why? Because he can see with the light of this world. But when a person walks at night he stumbles. Why? Because there is no light to help him see." After Jesus said these things, he said, "Our friend Lazarus is now sleeping. But I am going there to wake him." The followers answered, "But Lord, if he can sleep, he will be well." Jesus meant that Lazarus was dead. But Jesus' followers thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was really sleeping. So then Jesus said clearly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad that I was not there. I am happy for you, because now you will believe {in me}. We will go to him now." Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other followers, "We will go too. We will die with Jesus {in Judea}."

— John 11:1-16 (ERV)

Comments on "Not for a Lack of Love":

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