A Need for the Need

 October 10, 2024

Thursday

In a church I served, one of my congregation went to jail. His wife came to me franticly saying that we needed to get him out as soon as possible. He promised that he would never engage in the things that put him in jail again. I called some people and raised the bail he needed to get out. He was back at what put him in jail within four hours. Sometimes you need to stop for a minute when someone has a dire need. Maybe they need that need.

God doesn't always answer prayers the way we pray them. He may appear that He is silent but in reality He will bring about that which is necessary when it brings Him glory. Sometimes we need to remain in our need. Those who rush to remove the need may not be acting for God.

Paul had a thorn in the flesh. God allowed him to keep it because Paul was made strong by that thorn in the flesh. Some would have rushed to get treatment for Paul. They would have worked against what God had planned.

Jesus remained on the other side of the Jordan when He heard that Lazarus was sick. The fact was that it would have made no difference if He had taken off for Bethany immediately so He stayed two more days on the other side of the Jordan. Jesus was two days away from Bethany. The men who came to get Him to return with them had taken two days to reach Jesus. Doing a little math, since Lazarus was dead for four days when Jesus arrived, Lazarus had died at the time the men coming to Jesus arrived. If Jesus immediately left for Bethany, Lazarus would have been in the grave for two days. That's not the way it would have looked to Mary and Martha. They would have known silence for the four days of their brother's death. They would have known that Jesus waited two days before coming to them. They knew He loved them but they could hardly understand His absence.

When Jesus said that Lazarus' sickness would not end in death, His disciples probably thought that Lazarus was going to get better. They wouldn't have thought they needed to leave immediately either. Thus, when Jesus said that He was going to Judea the disciples were reluctant because they thought that it was dangerous for Jesus to return to Judea. When He told them that Lazarus was asleep, them must have been under the assumption that he was still alive. Sleep would help him get better. They certainly didn't understand Jesus saying that He needed to wake him up.

But look at the results for the waiting. Some came to know Jesus. But also, the wheels were truly set in motion for Jesus' crucifixion. 

Our prayers seem to rush to relieve the need. That isn't always what should be done. We should pray what God wants us to pray. We need to join God in what He is doing rather than tell God what to do. Taking someone out of their pain may be the thing that causes even greater misery. It may give them a powerless testimony. It may keep them from maturing in the faith.

So, answer me this: Would you rather give your prayer requests to someone who will always pray that you get out of the pain you are in or someone who will pray that God gives you relief as soon as the pain has accomplished what God wants for you? Think about it.

John 11:6 (ESV)

⁶ So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.