Death and Resurrection

Women Of Faith in Sacramento

John, Chapter 11, tells the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  Mary and Martha were Lazarus’ sisters.  All three of them were close friends of Jesus.  Mary, Martha, and Lazarus knew that Jesus was the son of God.  They knew he loved them. 

            One day, Lazarus became sick.  His sisters knew that their friend Jesus, the son of God, would be able to heal their brother, so they sent for him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”  They knew that Jesus loved their brother Lazarus and that he would heal him. 

            However, when Jesus got word of Lazarus’ illness, instead of rushing to him, he decided to stay where he was for two days.  Then, instead of leaving to go to Lazarus in Bethany after two days, he went back to Judea.  Meanwhile, in Bethany, his beloved friend lay dying. 

            I heard this story again with new ears this weekend at a Women of Faith conference.  I thought about what Mary and Martha must have felt sitting at their brother’s bedside.  After they sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, I’m certain they were filled with hope.  They trusted that Jesus loved them and that he had the power to heal their brother, that he’d be there soon and he’d make Lazarus well.   

 But time continued to pass…enough time for Jesus to have gotten to their home and healed Lazarus.  Where was he?  Why wasn’t he there yet?  As the hours and days passed, and Lazarus got weaker, the sisters’ faith may have weakened as well.  Maybe he wasn’t coming?  But he loves us!  He’s the Son of God, capable of anything!  Surely, he’ll come in time!

But he doesn’t.  Lazarus dies.  The pain that the sisters must have felt.  Not only because they’d lost their brother, but because their beloved Jesus, who was capable of coming to heal him, had chosen not to.  They believed with their whole hearts that He’d come and he hadn’t.

I haven’t lost my brother, as Mary and Martha did, but I suffered the metaphorical "death" of my dream...my plan for my life.  For as long as I can remember, I've planned on being a wife and mom.  I remember in High School, we had to write a poem about our dream for our future.  I didn't write about career goals, I wrote mine about the family and home I would have.  From a very young age, I trusted that I would get married and have children.  I had an unwaivering faith that my dream would come true.  I couldn’t imagine that God wouldn’t answer my prayer.  As the years passed, and all of my friends got married, doubt started to nibble away at my hope, and my faith that God would do it weakened.  I started saying, “IF I get married” instead of “When I get married”.  More years passed, more weddings, and all those friends who married started having babies.   But not me.  And somewhere in the last couple of years, I stopped dreaming.  I made myself stop thinking about my wedding day, the man I would marry, the kids I would have, because it was just too painful to hope anymore.  But not hoping hurt, too. Just like with Lazarus, I thought God had "taken too long" and my dream died. 

            BUT, that wasn’t the end of the story for Lazarus.  Jesus knew Lazarus had died.  He’d known all along that he would.  After Lazarus had been dead for four days, Jesus arrived in Bethany.   He sought out Mary and Martha, and He wept for Lazarus with them. But not for long.  He demanded that the stone from the tomb be moved and called for Lazarus to come forth.  And Lazarus did.  From death to life.

            So, why did he allow Lazarus to die if he planned on resurrecting him? Here is what Jesus said:

“This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God,

that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

John 11:4

“Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not

there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”

John 11:15

“Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know

 that You always hear Me, but because of the people who

 are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.”

John 11:42

            Jesus allowed Lazarus to die so that He could raise him and be glorified through it, so that others would see that He is a God of Miracles.  They'd already seen Him make sick people well.  How much more powerful would it be to witness the resurrection of a man long-dead?     
            So, if death wasn’t the end of the story for Lazarus, maybe it’s not for me. After all, he loves me as deeply as he loved Lazarus.  If Jesus let Lazarus die so that He could display His power over death and be glorified, maybe He let my dream die because He has plans to resurrect it, and resurrect it for His glory.   

 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and 

lean not on your own understanding."

Proverbs 3:5

             

Sarah

Sarah.

It’s my name.  It comes from the Bible.

Sarah was the wife of Abraham.  God told Abraham that he would be the father of a nation…that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky.  Sarah believed God in the beginning, but soon, she grew older, past her childbearing years, and she stopped believing.  It just seemed impossible that a woman her age would bear a child.  She displayed her lack of faith when she arranged for her servant to have Abraham’s child because she didn't believe she herself would be able to.  More proof of her disbelief came years later.  When God sent messengers to tell Abraham that Sarah would give birth to a son within the year, Sarah laughed.  She thought it ridiculous.  Impossible.  Yet within a year, she did indeed have a son, who God instructed her to call Isaac…it means “laughter”.

Instead of being patient and trusting, Sarah panicked that God would not fulfill his promise.  It seemed impossible, laughable even, that she could give birth at her age (she was 90 years old) and she took matters into her own hands.  Ishmael, the son born to Abraham and Sarah's slave, Hagar, would be a source of pain and bitterness in Sarah's life.  Not only that, but her actions, and the resulting birth of Ishmael, would bring about a conflict that continues to rage to this day over Israel. 

 

Those are some pretty hefty consequences. 

Sometimes, I find myself not believing.  Sometimes, I begin to panic (like, I can feel the fight or flight response start kicking in…seriously!). Perhaps it comes with the name.  Maybe, as a “Sarah”, it is my predestined lot to struggle with the burden of anxious waiting and doubting (and melodrama, apparently).  Or maybe it’s just that I’m human.  The bible is full of people like Sarah.  And so is history since the bible was written.  I’m sure we’ve all grown impatient with God’s timing at one time or another.  Well, take heart, we can glean some valuable lessons from the Biblical Sarah: 

   What God says He will do, He will do.  

  God’s timing, and His will, are superior to our own.  

   And nothing is too difficult for God

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, 

and in his word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5 

#18 Buy a goat for a family in a third world country

I started out planning on buying a goat for a family in third world country through Samaritan’s Purse.  I get their catalog every year that is full of items you can purchase for people in developing countries. 

         But, I went to a Women of Faith conference and God changed my plans.  Instead of buying a one time gift for someone, I decided to “adopt” a child.  World Vision is an organization that matches up people who want to help with children who desperately need it.  They provide food, medicine, and an education using monthly donations.  They also share with them the love of Christ.

         During a break at the Women of Faith conference, I perused the World Vision tables full of beautiful children, ranging from a few months old to late teens, all in need of help, each of them someone's child.  I found a little girl named Asnaku from Ethiopia.  She was 7 at the time.  She lives with her mother, a sister, and a brother in a community that is severely affected by the HIV and AIDS crisis.  Her mother is a farmer, but struggles to provide for her kids.  In the photo, her clothes were dirty and she had a necklace made of a pepsi can tab top.  She had big, beautiful brown eyes, but she wasn’t smiling. 

         I filled out the paperwork necessary to become Asnaku’s sponsor.  It was as simple as writing down my address and my debit card number.  Each month, $37 is withdrawn from my account automatically and sent to World Vision, which they use to meet Asnaku’s basic needs. 

This $37 means the world to Asnaku.   Honestly, I don’t even notice it’s gone.  This $37 is how much we may spend going to dinner and a movie on a Friday night.  Ten drinks at Starbucks.  One third of a designer pair of jeans.  To Asnaku, it’s food, clothes, and medicine.   

Asnaku and I have sent a few letters back and forth, translated of course, by World Vision workers.  I was able to “throw” her a birthday party when she turned 8.  As a part of my list of 31 things to do, I sent a $100 gift to her family for Christmas.  World Vision workers in Ethiopia met with Asnaku’s family and decided how it would be best spent.  They bought seeds for their next crop, food, clothing, and shoes. 

I got a letter a few weeks ago from Asnaku, along with a photo, thanking me for the gift.  Here is some of her letter:

“Thank you so much for your nice gift which you have sent me through World Vision.   These created in me a special feeling and joy, so much indeed.  Not only me, but also all of my family, friends, and relatives are always so happy because of you and would like to thank you.  They all say prayers for your health and peaceful life as well.  As for me, I really love you so much indeed and think of you often….I am so happy and proud of you and that I am your daughter here in Ethiopia.  I am sure you will be so excited looking at the photo of me and my gift.” 

Isn’t she so sweet? The photo is of Asnaku and her mother standing next to two large sacks of seeds....and they're smiling.  

In America, it is hard to imagine that the majority of mankind lives so very differently than us.  My aunt and uncle are on a mission trip in Tanzania right now.  I was reading my aunt’s journal yesterday and she shared about a bible study she taught.   When she asked a group of ladies what their fears were, their responses were hunger, disease, and death…all of which are a very real part of their lives. 

I think about how difficult it would be, as a parent, to see your child dying of hunger, or of a treatable disease, and know that there were people living the way we Americans do.  I don’t have children, but I can imagine the desperation I would feel if my niece or nephews were malnourished or dying of malaria.  I would want someone, somewhere, to do something to help.  I know that my $37 isn’t much.  It doesn’t even begin to make a dent, a dimple, in the problem of poverty and hunger in the world.  But it has made a difference for Asnaku, my Ethiopian daughter.

 “Love your neighbor as yourself.  

There is no commandment greater than these.”

                                                               -Jesus (Mark 12:31)

If you want to adopt a child, or if you want to help with a one-time gift, visit www.worldvision.org

#7 Go Fishing

 Patience is a virtue.

This is true in fishing, and in life.

Steph

I’m not much of a fisherman...and I'm not very patient.    

My cousin Stephanie, however, who I attended school with from kindergarten through high school, is, and she volunteered to take me fishing!  I borrowed a pole from my nephew, bought a fishing license, and Stephanie and I headed to the river on my 31^st birthday.

Most people drink beer while they fish, but I don’t care for the stuff, so I brought root beer…and of course, snacks.  Stephanie brought the bait...stinky stuff!  It was a beautiful January afternoon and we had a great spot on the river.  

Casting

Waiting

We were out there for a couple of hours, casting and waiting, waiting and casting.  We didn’t catch any fish.  Fortunately, we enjoyed the brisk weather and the sun setting behind us.  It was also time for a very overdue catch-up on each other's lives.  If I’d been out there alone, I don’t think I would have lasted very long...  

....because I’m not very patient.  When waiting for (what I deem) too long, I tend to start asking questions like,

      “Will I ever catch a fish?”

               

                           “God, why haven’t you sent me a fish yet?”

                         

              “Why has everyone else caught a fish but me?”

                                                  

                                                “Where are all the single fish?”

           (Hopefully you’ve figured out that I’m now using fishing as a metaphor...Jesus did it, too!)

The view

Waiting is hard.  Especially when everyone in your life has caught their fish and you’re still waiting for yours.  Maybe your “fish” is a new job.  Maybe it’s a new house.  Maybe it’s a baby.  Whatever your fish, waiting for it is hard.  

Keep casting and waiting, and in the meantime, enjoy the view, the people you’re with, the lessons God has to teach you along the way, and cling to hope that you'll catch "the big one" when His timing is right.     

I’m clinging…barely, but I am. 

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, 

and in His word I put my hope.”

                                           Psalm 130:5