When Love Delays

It’s hard to believe that two years ago Dad was in the hospital with COVID, fighting for his life. During those dark days when we didn’t know whether he would live or die, the story of Lazarus became very important to me. My dear Bible study leader, who was praying hard for Dad, kept reminding me of Jesus’ resurrection power and praying for a "Lazarus miracle." It was so encouraging to hear her words as I clung to John 11:5-6 like a lifeline. “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.”

I don’t know about you, but if I had been Jesus, I would have hopped on the fastest donkey I could find and galloped over to Lazarus’ bedside. Here in America, we’re not used to letting the people we love wait. In fact, making someone wait has become a sign of not caring. Jesus, however, He delayed His journey to Lazarus’ home in Bethany. As a result, Lazarus was dead when He finally arrived four days later, and Mary and Martha were heartbroken.

When God delays, or worse yet, when God says no, it can be difficult to believe He’s doing it out of love. We want results. We want answers. We want an end to our suffering and the suffering of those we love. To us, love means taking away our pain--right now.

But God’s love isn't like ours, and that’s a good thing. God, who is all loving and all knowing, is aware that sometimes the only way for us to grow and change is to walk through the sorrow. Pain in this world is not always as bad as we think, because pain takes from us the things we cling to instead of God, and pain teaches us lessons that no one else can teach.

And here’s the good news—God never wastes our pain, and He always walks with us through it. Sometimes the pain comes because God is sending it intentionally to refine and shape us. Sometimes it comes because of sin. Sometimes it comes because we live in a fallen world filled with death. No matter why we find ourselves in the middle of suffering, we can be sure that our Savior is there with us, walking us through the valley of the shadow of death, even when we don’t see Him, and even when it feels like He is the opposite of loving. I wouldn’t want to relive those hard days again, but I can honestly say there were special grace moments in them for which I am truly grateful.

When we emerge from the valley, we might see the good that results from our suffering. Mary and Martha saw Lazarus raised to life and many of their friends believing in Jesus because of it. I saw Dad healed as a testimony to the hundreds of prayers that were offered up for him. But there are other times when we have to wait until eternity to find out why we suffered as we did. That’s when all we can do is cling to those words, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister…” and know that He loves us, too.

Lenten meditation, John 11:1-45

Photo from https://pixabay.com/photos/leaves-macro-frost-garden-plant-7018017/