Daily Devotional

"The Master is come, and calleth for thee." Mary was mourning. Mary was grieved. Her brother died and she was shattered. But so was Martha.

What is striking is verse 20, "Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house." Mary, on a previous occasion, was the one who sat at the Masters feet whilst Martha was working. So, naturally, one would assume that Mary would run out of the house to meet her Saviour and Martha would have stayed behind to serve.

Heres the difference. Mary became shrouded by the cries and the wailing; Martha was overcome that the Saviour had come. Mary had given into her circumstance; Martha had given into the Hope. Mary needed deliverance. She needed to be called out from where she was. She needed to have her faith boosted to receive what God was preparing for her.

Did Jesus just raise Lazarus from the dead? No. "Jesus wept." Jesus empathised with Mary and Martha. Know that God does not come to just deliver His people. He lives the situation with you. Did He not say that He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you?

Finally, Jesus did not just raise Lazarus from the dead. There was a process. He had to get the unbelief out of the peoples minds first. "Move the stone." He says. "But he's been dead four days, Master, he stinketh." Of course he stinks. Dead people stink after a few days. So do dead, stagnant situations. They create this stench in your life that keeps joy and happiness away from you. But just move the stone and see the glory of God. Jesus could have raised Lazarus without moving the stone, but he would not have gotten very far in the tomb. Follow the process. Be obedient to His instructions. Do what His Word is telling you to do and you will bring dead situations to life.