Devotionals for the Heart: When you learn how to wait on the Lord

Worth The Wait
A devotional by Angela Anderson

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

 — John 11:32 (NIV)

The phone kept ringing. Finally, my call was answered – but it was voicemail again. That was the third person on my “favorites” contact list who I tried to reach. I was on the verge of tears, and I desperately needed to speak with someone. I just wanted to hear a comforting voice, but no one was coming to my rescue. My heart sank as my fourth call went straight to voicemail. Why weren’t any of my friends available when I needed them the most?

I imagine Martha and Mary felt the same way when they made a SOS call to their Best Friend (Jesus Christ), and there was no immediate answer. You can open a Bible and read John 11 for the full story. Here’s the short story: Their brother Lazarus was deathly ill, and they knew Jesus could make him well. The situation was critical and there was no time to waste. Yet Jesus casually stayed where He was for two more days before starting on His journey to see Lazarus! When Jesus finally arrived on the scene, Lazarus had been dead for four days!

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she ran to meet Him. She greeted Jesus with these words: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). Later in the same chapter, Martha’s sister Mary also confronted Jesus with those same words (John 11:32).

Have you ever cried out to God in distress, but your prayer seemed to be lost in a black hole?

Have you ever wondered where was God when you were going through the darkest moments of your life? Martha and Mary were crushed with disappointment. They felt as though the friend who they depended on did not show up when they needed Him the most. But Jesus did show up and when He did, He was filled with compassion. He felt their pain and immediately responded to their sorrow. According to John 11:33, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.”

Jesus asked to be led to the tomb where Lazarus lay dead, then He did something beyond anything they could have ever imagined: He raised Lazarus from the dead!

God also wants to do something amazing for us in the middle of a tragedy or disappointment.

We may be expecting something immediate, but sometimes God’s delay is intentional. As John 11:15a reads: “And for your sake, I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.”

God postpones His arrival to our situation in order to strengthen our faith, so that when He appears with all power and might, there will be no other option than to believe that it is God coming to our rescue.

The uncertainty in the waiting is hurtful, but He feels our pain and knows our hurt. When we cannot feel His presence, God is ever so present! Although there may be a delay, it does not mean there is a denial. God will show up, and when He does, it be worth the wait.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, You are wonderful and amazing in so many ways. Thank you for coming to our rescue in the past and for promising to be there in the future. May we trust and believe that You are with us, no matter how we feel or what we may expect. You have proven to be a faithful God. Strengthen us as we wait on You. In Jesus’s Name I pray, Amen.

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Note from Alexis: Angela’s devotional message today reminds me of the song “I Don’t Mind Waiting” by Juanita Bynum. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Angela Anderson was born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in NJ. She found her love for writing when she was in elementary school. She continued writing through high school, college, and into adulthood.

Angela is the author of a devotional book titled, Just When I Thought I Knew God, and a children's book that is not yet published.

In 2021, Angela started writing articles for an online magazine called Christian Women Living, where she focuses on writing messages for mothers and sharing advice on parenting. In addition to this, Angela wrote a devotional that is featured in a book published by Proverbs 31 Ministries. The book title is Hope When Your Heart is Heavy.

Angela has a passion for inspiring and impacting others through her writing as well as speaking. She is the co-founder of Anchor Moms, a ministry to cure loneliness in Motherhood. Currently, this ministry meets via a group on Facebook.

Angela has been married to the love of her life, Duane Anderson, for 17 years. Together, they have two sons: Thomas (age 9) and Ryan (age 4). Angela’s favorite pastime is journaling, and she also enjoys spending quality time with her family. Her personal mission is to empower others to achieve their goals and dreams.

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Connect with Angela:
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/angela.thomasanderson
Facebook fan page for her devotional book, Just When I Thought I Knew God:
https://www.facebook.com/jwitikg/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelanderson1104/

Devotionals for the Heart: A Miracle

The Miracle That Almost Didn’t Happen
A devotional by Amy Odland

“When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.”
– John 11:43-44 (NIV)

I have been meditating on a different verse lately and thinking how it applies to this story about Jesus and Lazarus. It’s Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) where Paul mentions God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”

When we read about Larazus’ death, we have the benefit of hindsight, of looking back and saying "Wow! This amazing and miraculous thing happened!"

They didn’t have this benefit back then and because they couldn’t even fathom it, almost stopped the miracle from happening.

When Jesus got to the tomb, he said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha’s reply was (my paraphrase), “Are you SERIOUS? He’s gonna stink something BAD, oh MY, Lord.” 

Poor Martha was worried about the stink! She probably thought Jesus just wanted to pay his respects to the body because he wasn’t there when Lazarus died. Keep in mind, this was even after she and Jesus had just had a conversation about life and death and him being the “resurrection and the life.” Martha still had no expectation of Jesus raising her brother from the dead before her very eyes. She could not even imagine such a thing.

I don’t know that I have any awesome personal examples to share. No earth-shattering miracles happening over here like people rising from the dead. My dad died of a sudden stroke almost 19 years ago at age 50 – he’s still dead.

I still have family members who don’t believe in Jesus – they haven’t changed their minds and believed in an instant. I still have thorns in my flesh I wish God would take away.

But I have seen bucket loads of little things happen over the years: Protection from evil I wasn’t even anticipating. Guidance and wisdom given when I’d asked. Healing — albeit slowly — physically and spiritually from sicknesses and wounds.

Individually these things would maybe not move me to expand my imagination of what God can accomplish, but the culmination of them together over my lifetime makes where I am now in life feel like a miracle. I tend to be like Martha and worry about the stink, a.k.a. the here and now or the circumstances, but reflecting on all God has done in my life can renew my hope and revitalize my prayers just as seeing and interacting with a LIVE Lazarus in the days that followed probably did for all who knew him.

Martha and Mary and the other people mourning Lazarus that day had no idea what they were going to see. Their imaginations couldn’t create something so astounding, something they’d only heard about in the Scriptures up until that point. But after seeing Lazarus walk out of that tomb with the burial clothes hanging off of him, I would imagine the self-inflicted limitations of their prayers and beliefs were expanded greatly.

Do you feel ridiculous asking for a crazy thing, just as Mary and Martha would’ve felt asking for Lazarus to come back from the dead? Have you noticed when hope dwindles, our prayers become limited?

God really can do immeasurable things, beyond what we can even think to ask for.

Lazarus’ resurrection was for a purpose … so those who witnessed it would believe God sent Jesus.

What big prayer should you be asking Him in the midst of your hopeless situation?

We can know to pray for something crazy, something we’d never imagined before, because God has done crazy things before and He could very well choose to do them again in your life to show His power to those around you.

Your big prayer being answered could have a purpose too. God can’t say “yes,” though, if you don’t ask. Don’t let the title of this devotional be the title of your prayer life. Make the big ask. Move beyond what you can imagine or think. Move into God’s immeasurable power that is within you. Don’t be the miracle that almost didn’t happen.

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Author Bio:

Amy Odland has been serving in church ministry as a volunteer leader for over 16 years, in various worship, prayer and women’s ministry roles. 

Her passion for helping women stems from her own struggles and lessons learned in her journey as a Christian since first deciding to follow the Lord in 1994.

Amy’s priorities after her faith include her family — husband Rick, and their four kids — as well as extended family who all live close in proximity and the many friends she’s made over the years.

In addition to a love of teaching and helping her husband with the bookkeeping for their many businesses, Amy has recently expanded her stay-at-home work to include leading author’s book launch teams for publishing companies like Baker, Revell, Barbour, and Lifeway.

She also enjoys teaching new authors about platform building, self-launching, and online marketing.

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Connect with Amy:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/amyodland

Instagram: https://instagram.com/amy_odland
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amy_odland
Website: https://amyodland.com