Shattered Hope

We have friends who have prayed for a miracle for years. But they haven’t yet received their miracle. They haven’t heard an answer from God. Why do some people get miracles, while others seem to spend their lives waiting? It’s easy to feel like God answers some prayers and ignores others. But what if our Creator has a different way of moving mountains? What if there is a reason for the waiting?

One of my favorite Gospel stories is the account of Lazarus. Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha. But when Jesus heard Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was for two more days. If I had the ability to heal someone I loved, I think I would leave to see them as soon as I heard the news. But Jesus waited. And there was a purpose in waiting.

When Jesus got to Lazarus, he had been dead four days. Jewish people believed the soul stayed near the body for three days. But Jesus waited until people would’ve thought Lazarus had no hope of rising again. Then, Jesus raised Lazarus back to life. By waiting, Jesus proved His power over the grave. He foreshadowed that His own coming death would have no hold on Him.

Not all stories end like Lazarus’s. We live in a broken world filled with suffering and pain. Jesus healed many people while He was on earth, but not everyone had the chance to meet Him. We don’t all get the miracles we hope for, and we may never know the reasons why.

But Jesus is the resurrection and the life. And one day, everyone who has put their trust in Him will be raised from the dead. We will live with Jesus, free from every sickness and sorrow. Until that day, the Holy Spirit helps us to trust Him. Trust there is a reason for the waiting. Trust an answer is coming, even if it’s not the one we’ve hoped for. Trust God is with us, even when life feels terribly hard. Because God is always the God of miracles, even when we don’t understand how He is working. • Becca Wierwille

• Have you ever prayed for a miracle, either for yourself or someone else?

• How might it be comforting to know that Jesus weeps with us as we wait for Him to make all things new, including our bodies? (John 11:33-36)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?†John 11:25-26 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Ps.42|Ps.71