The Glory of God

I love it when God's Word hits me like I'm reading it for the first time.  Since I've grown up in the Church, many of the stories, parables, life lessons are so familiar that sometimes they are mundane.  And many times I tune out when listening to another sermon on David, Moses, etc. (Note: I'm not tuning out because I feel I know everything or have nothing else to learn, but tune out with the message is over-simplified.  Nor is this a healthy habit.)

Not this morning.  I was listening to a Focus on the Family broadcast called "Trusting God when He Breaks Your Heart".  WOW!  Pastor Ed Underwood talked about how he navigated his faith when diagnosed with a physically painful disease.  During his struggle he found little comfort in praying and reading books on suffering.  His faith was crumbling.  He felt abandon.  The God of the universe wasn't listening.

But that all changed when he reread John 11: The Death of Lazarus.

How many times have I studied this passage?  Maybe in the light of new circumstances I heard things I had never heard.  Having lost Nana suddenly at the beginning of the summer.  Watching a friend and mentor die of cancer while her 3 young kids and husband watched helplessly.  Hearing of friends losing their precious babies to miscarriage and pre-term labor. Being sick for 4 months, longing for life to return to "normal".

Sometimes while we are crying out to God with urgency, expectant hearts, ready for a response, it seems He is sitting back and saying nothing.  Meanwhile, our condition worsens.  Our friends and family die.  How do we react when it appears the very hand of God comes down to strike us or ignore us?

That's exactly where Underwood found himself when rereading the death of Lazarus.  Here's my recap (BTW: I'm leaving out several good points...for instance vs 15...):
1. Jesus was told "the one you love is sick." (vs. 3)
2. Jesus stayed two days before traveling to see Lazarus. (vs. 6)
3. Lazarus was in the tomb for 4 days before Jesus arrived (vs. 17)
4. Martha (Lazarus' sister) greets Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died..." (vs. 21)
5. Mary (Lazarus' sister) greets Jesus saying the same thing Martha said. (vs. 32)

So far nothing new.  The verse that popped off the page was Jesus' response to Martha's protest for opening the tomb of Lazarus (vs 40)...

Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?

I have always skipped over this verse and focused on the resurrection of Lazarus.  But it is Jesus' words in verse 40 that can give us hope in our grief and suffering.  For Lazarus, the glory of God was revealed in his resurrection.  

But what does the glory of God look like in other circumstances?  I think Wren answered it for her situation in her video.

This new perspective has given me something to ponder as I focus less on seeing my prayers answered and more on seeing the glory of God...