by Julie Zine Coleman @JulieZColeman

Their brother was dying. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, who was a day’s journey away, begging Him to quickly come and heal his good friend. But Jesus did not do as they requested. Instead, He dallied for two days before finally heading south to Bethany (see John 11)

By the time he arrived, Lazarus was dead and buried. Both Martha and Mary didn’t know what to do with His slow response. Both separately stated their bewilderment: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Even the mourners at their home commented, “Could this man, who opened the eyes of the man who was blind, not have also kept this man from dying?”

Had Jesus immediately reacted to the sisters’ message, He could have easily kept Lazarus from dying. In fact, He didn’t even need to travel anywhere. He had already healed several serious illnesses from afar with a word.

Furthermore, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were more than just acquaintances. Jesus had been to their home and enjoyed their warm hospitality. In his account, John assures us: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and Lazarus” (John 11:5 NASB).

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So why didn’t He rescue Lazarus? Why the delay?

He could have saved him. But Jesus had a different plan, one that would bring far more glory to the Father and His Son. “This sickness will not end in death,” He had assured those around Him. “No, it is for God’s glory, so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4 NIV).

Jesus was able to see beyond the present and scary circumstances to the end game. And because He did things the Father’s way, many more people were witness to Jesus’ power to raise the dead. The disciples saw and believed, Mary and Martha saw Him in a whole new light, and the many mourners at the women’s house witnessed the dead being raised to life. Many believed. Way more than what have resulted from Lazarus’ cure while still alive.

All along, Jesus had been working toward the end-game. On that incredible day, no one walked away from the house of Lazarus untouched.

Do you ever feel God has let you down? Asking God, then only hearing crickets? Writers know about disappointment. We feel His call to write. We pray over our writing, then submit to editors, hoping that this will be the thing to finally publish. But more often than not, our work is rejected. Again. What is God doing? Why is He making it so hard to move forward?

Well, like Mary and Martha, we serve a Savior that has the end-game in mind. He is working in us to make us effective and useful writing servants. I believe that He is working toward the kind of results that will have far more spiritual impact than we can imagine.

Paul assured his readers, “Therefore, we do not lose heart…for our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4: 16-17 NASB).

Make the choice to trust God for His end-game plan. Keep your eyes open every day to see what He is doing in you as you wait. Seeing His end game will one day be worth it –glory beyond all comparison.

Julie Zine Coleman is an award-winning author, speaker, and member of the Pastoral Team at New Hope Chapel. She is the managing editor for the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association’s devotional website, Arise Daily. Julie holds a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies and has authored four books including Unexpected Love: God’s Heart Revealed through Jesus’ Conversations with Women and On Purpose: Understanding God’s Freedom for Women through Scripture, which was named The Golden Scrolls Book of the Year as well as The Selah Awards’ Director’s Choice. Julie and her husband have four grown children, six grandchildren, and one crazy Golden Retriever puppy.