May 16, 2018
I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:
TO BE RIGHT ON TIME (part 3)
John 11:21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Three powerful words, “But I know”. Things may look bad, “But I know”. If you had been here, Jesus, Lazarus would not have died, “But I know”. I do not fully understand why you have done this, Lord, “But I know”. That is what you call “Faith”. And you cannot please God without it. That is what faith is. It is to believe even though you do not see.
* Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
It is saying, “Lord, you did not do what I wanted you to, but I still trust you, and I believe that you can do anything”. I love the next three words, “that even now”. She was desperate, discouraged, and dejected, but “even now” I trust you. I do not know about you but that is the kind of faith that I want. To be able to say, “God, even though I think you are late, I trust that you are right on time”. To believe that, with God, all things are still possible.
* Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Lazarus was dead. It is one thing to have faith when someone is still alive and you are praying for a miracle. But it is a different kind of faith to still trust God, even though all hope seems gone. I believe her faith pleased Jesus that day. How it must have thrilled Jesus to hear her say, “But I know, that even now…”. How did Jesus respond? “Jesus saith unto her, thy brother shall rise again”. And rise again Lazarus did. We get hung up on being on time. What does that mean anyway?
Time is relative. God is not “on time”, God “is time”. God does not have to be on time because God owns time. God controls time. God is not governed by time. God governs Time. God is not restricted by time, a schedule, a calendar, or a watch. Despite all that had taken place, Jesus still had the power to say, “thy brother shall rise again”. God can do what He wants, how He wants, when He wants to do it. I encourage you not to forget that today. Whatever you think God is a little bit late or behind on, please do not worry. Trust Him. God has plenty of “time”.