(John 11:38-40 NIV) Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
This morning we continue our new series entitled, “Faith and Patience VOL III – Never Give Up!” by continuing with the story of Mary and Martha. Yesterday I further highlighted the differences in the two sisters. We saw that even after Mary had touched Jesus and even after He had traveled to the gravesite ready to resurrect Lazarus, Martha stepped in and mentioned that the body was stinking. She was obviously not helping, but it was because she was not believing. Her faith switch was clearly in the “OFF” position. She had no clue of what Jesus was about to do and it is hard to receive what you cannot perceive. This led Jesus to say, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
Martha’s problem was that she had stopped believing. Now, I am convinced she was believing while Lazarus was still alive. She was confident that Jesus would show up and heal Lazarus, while he was still breathing. She had faith in Jesus, faith in His power to heal, and faith that her brother would get better, while her brother was still with her. But once Lazarus died, her belief died. Once she stopped believing, she released the hold of her faith. Once she gave up her faith, she lost her hope. Once she lost her hope, her mind and her heart closed the door to the situation. As far as she was concerned, Lazarus was in her rear-view mirror; Lazarus was past-tense to her, with no possibility of crossing back over into her present. In the case of Lazarus, Martha was no longer a believer. She might have believed God for other things, but not for this. This was, “case closed,” “end of story,” “game over.”
Jesus came. He was ready, willing and able to bring Lazarus back to life. Jesus said, “…if you believed,” but that was the problem. Martha was no longer believing. Belief is a powerful thing. Belief is not faith, but without belief you will never get to faith. Belief opens the door of possibility of it. Faith exercises confidence in God for it. Belief says, “It can happen.” Faith says, “It will.”
We are called “believers” for a reason. Jesus said, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes” (Mark 9:23). There are no impossibilities in God, but there are all sorts of impossibilities for people who don’t believe. For example, if a Christian is sick and God wants to heal them, but they don’t believe in healing, then healing becomes an impossibility for them. Healing is not impossible, it just becomes impossible for them. Why? Because they have closed the door to it through unbelief. That’s what Martha had done and that’s what many do everyday. Please don’t make the same mistake.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that God wants you to be a believer. He was you to believe in Him, His power, and His limitless ability. He is the God of no-limits, but we put limits on Him when we fail to believe. Don’t be like Martha. Don’t put artificial limits on our limitless God. No matter what your situation looks like, don’t stop believing. Continue to believe, continue to operate in faith, and continue to trust God.
Closing Confession: Father, I am a believer, not a doubter. I refuse to give up on my belief. I will not allow my situation to cross over into the realm of the past-tense in my mind or heart. I will not allow unbelief to stifle my belief and faith. Belief is choice, faith is a choice, doubt is a choice, and unbelief is a choice. I choose to believe, I choose to operate in faith, and I choose to continue to believe until I see Your glory manifested in my life. I add patience to my faith and I maintain joy and peace while I wait in expectation. Joy and my peace help me to continue to believe, even when situations seem hopeless. I believe in You, the God of NO LIMITS! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
