This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.” Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
Read John 11
We have been through this miracle several times now. Yesterday, I gave you some lessons we can glean from it. Today we will flow in that same vein.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Vision gives pain a purpose.
I am sure it was painful for Jesus to watch His friends go through this terrible experience. However, Jesus knew what was waiting for them, and for Him, on the other side of it. How? God had given Jesus a vision of what would happen in the end. That vision propelled Jesus past the pain. Even when He was crying with the family, He knew, deep in His heart, what the end was going to be.
— Having a clear vision of what is coming next will help you endure whatever you must endure to get there.
— Those without vision spend their lives taking the path of least resistance as they try to avoid discomfort. Conversely, those who know who they are and what they are called to do are able to endure all sorts of pain and discomfort on the path to their purpose because they know what is waiting for them on the other side.
— When you receive a vision from God, you can see beyond the problem far enough to know the purpose of it. I will use Jesus going to the cross as an example of this. Jesus endured the pain of the cross because He was able to see the JOY that was waiting for Him (Hebrews 12:2).
— If you are facing a problem or challenge and you have no vision, you don’t really have a concept of what is going on beyond what you’re able to see with your natural eyes. So it is understandable when a person who has no vision from God buckles under the pressure of their present situation. The situation looks so big that they crumble under the weight of distressing anxiety. However, when you know there are forces at work behind the scenes, you know there is a greater purpose in operation. You know God is still moving pieces around the chessboard of your life, then you can have peace, and even JOY, in the middle of a situation that would crush someone else.
— Jesus was facing the death penalty, and He had peace. Learn from Jesus. Every second of every day of every month of every year, God is still God!
— When you know what you are called to do and you are pursuing your divine purpose, you have divine clarity while you are going through painful situations. If God permitted it, and He is seeking to get glory from it, then there is purpose wrapped up in the pain.
— When you know who you are in Christ and you know what you are called to do, you will choose calling over comfort and purpose over pleasure.
2. Delays are not denials – you just cannot quit before God’s timing.
In the story of Lazarus, Jesus intentionally delayed His arrival, even though He knew Lazarus was sick. This delay allowed for an even greater manifestation of God’s power. Similarly, delays in your life may be divinely orchestrated to bring about a more significant breakthrough and display of God’s glory.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
— Know that God’s timing will not always align with your clock, but His timing is always right!
— If your watch is not set to God’s clock, meaning that your expectations are not in line with God’s planned manifestation, you will be frustrated because you will want things to happen before their time. I have been there more times than I want to remember. But learn to trust God’s timing. His timing is always perfect!
— When it finally happens, you will be able to look back and thank God that it did not happen when you wanted it to happen! God’s timing is always perfect. Jesus showed up for Lazarus right when He was supposed to, and in the end, God was glorified.
3. Faith requires action (it’s an action word).
When Jesus arrived at Lazarus’ tomb, He asked the people to remove the stone that covered the entrance. This action demonstrated their faith in Jesus’ ability to perform a miracle. When you believe in God’s promises, be prepared to take action, even when it seems impossible or illogical.
— While belief opens the door to the possibility of it, faith walks through the door and pursues it.
— Faith is something you say, something you do, or something you sow (financially) because of something God promised you.
— Faith is anything you DO to access the grace of God (the emphasis is on the word “DO”).
— While God does everything He does for us by His unearned grace, He requires us to access His grace with our faith. This access will not come without ACTION.
— I will provide an important caveat here. I spoke to someone yesterday who “launched out in faith” for something that they knew nothing about. When it failed, the person was upset with God. But after asking a series of questions, it was clear to me (and the person) that they were not ready. Just because God wants you to do something, it does not authorize you to forego the preparation phase.
— Prepared blessings come to prepared people. Some people launch out in what they are calling “faith,” but what it actually is, is foolishness. Being “in faith” does not mean you should not be prepared.
4. God is not limited to “the natural.”
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, defying the natural order of things. This miracle serves as a reminder that God’s power transcends our understanding and can overcome any limitations we may face in life.
— True faith requires a departure from the safety of human possibility.
— When God calls you into areas that exceed your power and ability, He is inviting you to experience the supernatural. He is calling you into His best. To experience it, you must have the courage to leave the confines and the comfort of your normal routine.
— To experience God’s power, You must be willing to break away from the safety found in doing things you already know how to do. Jesus had never raised someone from the dead after four days. This was a new thing. But He had the faith to believe, receive, and experience it. Do you?
— This is a reason of refreshing and restoring for us. In this season, God may be calling you into a NEW THING. Do you have the courage to LET GO of your NOW so you can LAY HOLD of your NEXT?
I have more, but that’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
You have restored me to my former glory, and You are taking me to a fresh level of glory!
You are giving me fresh vision and insight from heaven. You have been to my future, and now You are revealing it to me.
I believe and receive what You reveal. The UNSEEN is more real to me than what I see with my natural eyes.
Your vision gives my pain a purpose. While I endure whatever I need to endure on the path to Your purpose, I do so with unwavering faith because I can clearly see what is waiting for me on the other side of the pain.
These light afflictions are not worthy of being compared with the glory You will reveal through me as I press through every problem, focused on Your divine purpose.
No matter what, I shall not quit. Because I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! Everything You promised for me will happen in my life at just the right time! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
