trusted with silence: our pain for his glory

Thursday morning I read about the death and resurrection of Lazarus in John 11:1-43, prompted by the daily reading in Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest.

I never really noticed how Jesus waited to see Lazarus upon hearing he was sick. Lazarus' sisters Mary and Martha sent for Him, but He did not come right away. Chambers points out that in a way, Mary and Martha were praying to Jesus, asking Him to come and heal their brother, asking Him to be present with them, asking for His comfort.

But instead, Jesus chose to be quiet, chose to have them wait in silence and watch their brother die. And when Jesus finally goes to see them, I can't imagine how upset and confused Mary and Martha must have been, expressing these emotions by telling Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

Because how hard that must have been for them! This is a family Jesus loved. Mary had spent her perfume on Jesus' feet, and He can't even come heal her brother, a man Jesus deeply loved.

It wasn't that Jesus didn't care. Verses 34-35 says He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled, and that He wept. But to Mary and Martha, seeing this Savior grieving over their brother's death yet having had every power to save him had He wanted to... it must have made no sense.

But it was for the glory of God that Jesus chose not to be there when Lazarus was sick, that Lazarus had to die - so Jesus could raise him up.

Sometimes God chooses to trust us with His silence, and then He uses our pain to bring Him glory. It doesn't mean He doesn't care or He doesn't love us. Despite not coming when they had asked, Jesus wept when He did come in His own timing. He deeply cared and loved them. But our lives are all for His glory, even when the circumstances and the timing of them make no sense to us at the time.

And certainly, our lives display beauty amidst pain when God gets the glory!

I wrote this with a dear friend in mind who lost her dad last week - may you always remember God's glory seen through your dad's life, and through his death. Love ya. <3