When I Feel Forgotten by Jesus

Some people, like Debbie W. Wilson, continually draw out fresh applications from old truths. In this UPLIFT Encouragement, using the story of Lazarus, Debbie reminds us that our Savior will never forget us—even if we feel like He has sometimes.

And especially when He delays to come to our aid.                    

"My standard poodles’ big brown eyes melted my resolve," Debbie says. “'Ok. You can go with me.'”

I (Dawn) totally understand. My dog gets puppy-dog eyes—what else would I call them?—whenever I head for the door. "Pleeeeeeease don't leave me," he seems to say.

How can I say no?

Debbie continues . . . 

Max’s fluffy tail thumped excitedly. His sister pranced with anticipation. And I smiled.

I hate to disappoint pooches and people. Especially, my pooches and my people.

That’s why Jesus’ actions in John 11 astound me.

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days” (John 11:5-6 NIV).

Without divine intervention, Lazarus would die.

Jesus had the power to heal.

Lazarus’ sisters sent an urgent message to Jesus,

“Lord, the one you love is sick” (John 11:3 emphasis added).

As a close friend of this family, surely, Jesus would rush to the rescue. He would not disappoint those He loved.

But Jesus waited.

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So…He waited???

That doesn’t compute.

Jesus finally arrived—after Lazarus had been in the tomb four days.

Jewish tradition held that the spirit left the body within four days.

Lazarus was gone.

Confusion complicated Martha and Mary’s grief.

• “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (vs. 21).
• Mary fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (vs. 32)
• Even their friends were confused, “But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’” (vs. 37).

And they were right. If Jesus had been there Lazarus wouldn’t have died. Jesus said so (John 11:14-15).

For me, being misunderstood ranks up there with not disappointing someone I love. Jesus wasn’t calloused to their feelings (see John 11:33-38). But He was willing to be misunderstood to bring about a greater good.

He allowed Lazarus to feel forsaken on his deathbed, Mary and Martha to feel forgotten in their grief, and the villagers to question His love for His friends.

Why?

Because the eternal benefit outweighed the temporary discomfort.

He wanted for them SOMETHING BETTER than relief.

He wanted them to gain unshakable faith.

No one doubted Jesus could heal. But no one had ever raised someone who’d been dead four days.

Has Jesus’ timing ever disappointed you? What answer are you still waiting for?What “no” pains and confuses you?

Take heart from Jesus’ delay.

Listen to WHY He waited.

• “It is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4 NIV)
• “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him” (John 11:14-15 NIV).
• “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25 NIV).
  
• “‘Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?’…‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me’” (John 11:40-42 NIV).
  
• “Therefore many of the Jews … believed in him” (John 11:45 NIV).

When it looks like Jesus has forgotten you, when He seems to ignore your needs, draw hope from this story.

Stretching our faith is more important than our comfort. It’s how we come to know God is bigger and better than we can imagine.

Let’s allow Jesus to smash the boxes we’ve confined Him to and not lose heart when He delays.

He hasn’t forgotten you.

"Dear Father, Your will and Your ways are always better than mine. Feel free to tell me 'no' when You have a better plan."

When has a bitter “no” turned into a better “yes” for you?

Debbie W. Wilson, Bible teacher and former biblical counselor, combines insight and encouragement to inspire people to trust Christ with their lives. Her books include Little Faith, Big God, Little Women, Big God, and Give Yourself a Break. She and her husband Larry founded Lighthouse Ministries, a nonprofit biblical counseling and Bible study ministry. Debbie enjoys dark chocolate, a good mystery, and the antics of her two standard poodles. Find free resources and connect with Debbie at RefreshingFaith.com.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Mediamodifier at Pixabay.

Painting of "The Raising of Lazarus" by Rembrandt, on Wikipedia. Part of the Google Art Project—Harmensz VanRijn.

Road Work Ahead — Expect Delays!

Dianne Barker's clever use of everyday symbols and circumstances offer lessons for our Christian journey. In this Christian Living UPGRADE, she writes about the tough time so many of us have with waiting.

"'Road work ahead, expect delays.' That’s what the construction sign said. "In other words, prepare to wait," Dianne said.

Oh, how I (Dawn) hate to wait. I always think it's such a waste of time. But Dianne encourages us to get a fresh perspective on delays.

Dianne continues . . . 

The sign provided appropriate advice for the road of life.

The problem with most of us is that we aren’t prepared to wait. We’re geared for full speed ahead.

Waiting is unplanned and unwanted because it often leads to an unexpected and undesirable detour. Reaching the destination has top priority so waiting is never welcome.

I don’t love waiting, yet waiting consumes a large part of life. I should be getting used to it, but it always catches me by surprise.

I never include interruption and delay in my daily plans.

This very moment may find you in an interruption and waiting phase.

• Waiting for biopsy results.
• Waiting for a prodigal child to return.
• Waiting for a family conflict to be resolved.
• Waiting for a terrible hurt to heal.

Sometimes we wait with sweet anticipation.

• Waiting for the husband of our dreams.
• Waiting for a child to be born.
• Waiting for a promised promotion at work.
• Waiting for a spectacular family vacation.

Other times we wait with paralyzing dread.

Once, in such a place, I heard a soft whisper in my spirit:

“You aren’t waiting on a person or a circumstance. You are waiting on God.”

That truth changed my perspective.

Delay is annoying, and my typical response is grumbling—which never has a favorable impact on my situation.

Knowing God holds my life in His hands and that I’m waiting on Him, I only need to surrender my fretful spirit and confirm my trust in His wisdom.

Perhaps God is also waiting—waiting for us to trust Him fully, confident that delay is always for His greater purpose.

Could it be designed to reveal our devotion?

“…The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him” (Deuteronomy 13:3b-4 NIV).

I'm wondering if God’s purpose in our waiting might also be to teach us to rest.

Psalm 37 gives a simple strategy for times of waiting.

“Trust in the Lord… delight yourself in the Lord… commit your way to the Lord… be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”

What an exciting possibility!

To be still—to rest—and wait patiently, no matter what. If we rest today, we rest in our present circumstances.

How do we get to that place of resting and waiting patiently?

Here are THREE CHOICES to help us use our time productively in the waiting-arena.

1. THANK God, knowing he is using delay to shape us as His instrument.

2. PRAISE God, knowing he is setting the stage to display His power.

3. HONOR God, knowing we can trust His promises.

Our world has spent the last year on pause, waiting for the virus to finish its deadly mission, waiting for restrictions to be lifted, waiting to reunite with distant family members.

Waiting during COVID-19 has spawned discouragement and loneliness.

The challenges of this strange interruption—this unplanned waiting—threatened to drain our joy and hope.

Here’s truth: waiting doesn’t mean inactivity.

Trusting is active. Praying is active.

Begin with this:

"Lord, I surrender this to you. It’s yours. Whatever you do is okay with me. I will praise you because of your righteousness, not my circumstances. Let me hear your voice behind me saying, this is the way, walk in it. My soul waits for you and in your word I will hope."

Use your season of waiting to rehearse promises that slip by unnoticed in the hectic pace of normal life.

• Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3).
• Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20).
• And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

As you continue the journey, keep this in mind — God is working on the road ahead. Expect delays but proceed with expectation.

Now then, stand and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! (1 Samuel 12:16).

Who knows what may happen when we wait and trust?

David, the shepherd king, wrote:

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14).

Will you dare to believe you are not waiting on a person or a circumstance but on God?

Dianne Barker is a speaker, radio host, and author of 11 books, including the best-selling Twice Pardoned and award-winning I Don’t Chase the Garbage Truck Down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! Organizing for the Maximum Life. She’s a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Christian Authors Network, and Word Weavers International and a speaker for Stonecroft Ministries. Visit www.diannebarker.com.

Graphic - East Rock Hill Township (Penn.) road sign.

Upgrade Your Life While You Wait

I've been following what's happening in Kathy Carlton Willis' life, so I know this UPGRADE was born as a life message in her heart.

"No one eludes those pesky life on-hold challenges," Kathy says, "but everyone wants to know how to live through them without hating the wait."

Waiting. It's not something I (Dawn) have ever enjoyed. It's so hard for me to "wait for the Lord" and His goodness in my circumstances (Psalm 27:13-14). So I appreciate Kathy's "waiting wisdom."

She continues ...

Probably the hardest thing for me, and most of you, is the trial of hurry-up-and-wait. Left unchecked, it tests my patience, challenges my contentment, and sours my joy.

I have several God-and-me times yearly to evaluate the priorities He wants me to have, the goals He sets for me—you name it. The frustrating part comes when I think I have my marching orders from God and then something comes into my life that puts everything on hold.

I get so antsy to want to hurry up and do what God has planted as a burning passion in my life, but instead I have no choice but to wait. It feels like I’m expected to sit on my hands! I’m quite certain you can relate.

I’ve come to realize that the reason I hate the wait is because I feel like I have to make progress to please God. And I’ve been programmed to think I have to be doing something or see a situation moving in the right direction to count as progress.

I’m learning from back-to-back-to-back on-hold situations that it’s in the wait where we grow, others grow, and situations come together for a better outcome later on. Just because we can’t see the signs of progress doesn’t mean nothing good is going on.

Psalm 62:5 says, "Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him" (NLT).

The wait is not a delay, it’s an on-purpose plateau to let what used to be catch up with what’s going to be in the future.

It’s just like losing weight. If we don’t allow for the plateaus when we diet, our skin doesn’t shrink up and we walk around like Shar Pei puppies. We don’t want saggy baggy skin, and we don’t want saggy baggy lives, either.

A life on hold isn’t a life delayed. It’s just not time yet.

What do you do about it when you hit a delay in your git-up-and-go? Does it derail you? Do you learn to be flexible? How do you cope? After you are no longer on hold, does hindsight help you find the blessing in the wait?

Perhaps you recognize a drama avoided by the delay or a travesty missed by the trial of waiting. Or maybe you see the results of a spiritual growth spurt that took place during the time you felt you were stalled out.

One of the exercises I learned to do during my latest life-on-hold period was to evaluate: What do I do that drains me? What energizes me?

God loves for us to accentuate those things that propel us rather than those things that drag us down. Think motors, not anchors. Of course, all work has aspects we don’t like—that’s why it’s called work! But it’s important to do something daily that gets us jazzed. Can you put your finger on that thing that makes your motor purr?

Delays are the beginning of grand adventures.

Join me today by asking yourself, “What attitude adjustment can I make today to help me get closer to the future God’s dreamed up just for me?”

Kathy Carlton Willis writes and speaks with a balance of funny and faith—whimsy and wisdom. She shines the light on issues that hold women back and inspires their own lightbulb moments. Almost a thousand of Kathy’s articles have been published and she has several books releasing over the next three years, including Grin with Grace with AMG Publishers. She and her husband/pastor, Russ, live in Texas. Learn more at: www.kathycarltonwillis.com/