“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.’” John 11:38-39

Four Days

I was sitting in church today and the pastor said, “Sometimes God takes longer to heal us than we want Him to.”

John 11 tells a powerful story of Jesus raising a dead man back to life. Last week, as I read it again, these words stuck out to me: Four Days. Jesus knew all along that He was going to raise Lazarus back to life from the dead. And yet he waited four whole days. It seems like a very long time for the sisters of Lazarus to have had to grieve.  Grief is one of the hardest pains for a heart to bear. And these sisters had to grieve for four days. Why did He wait that long? Would the miracle have been that much less spectacular had He done it at day one, two, or three? Why does God let us wait through our times of acute suffering before He heals us?

I am struggling with this concept right now. Lazarus’ sisters struggled with this, too.  When Jesus finally got to their house, Mary didn’t even come out to meet Him (John 11:20). She said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32). I think she was mad, disappointed in Him.

Right now, I am waiting to be reunited with my children. We have been separated through unbearably painful circumstances, which I know that the LORD can swoop in and fix at any moment. Yet here I sit, five years later, and He has not swooped in. I still believe He will. I still trust Him to be the perfect healer for my situation. I choose to focus on saying, “Thank You, God, that my children are alive.” But at this point, my soul feels weary. It seems to be an awfully long time of waiting. And I don’t have an answer for that.

If you are in the middle of suffering, waiting for a healing or restoration, and you wonder why it is taking so long, I don’t have an answer for you. I am not going to give you a cliché. I will not blow smoke at your sorrow. I only know that someday it will make sense (Luke 8:17).

All the tears will be wiped away (Revelation 21:4).

Until then, we bear up under the trial by keeping our eyes on Jesus and waiting for Him.

Dear Lord Jesus, though I may not understand Your timing, I choose to trust You. Help me wait for You. When waves of sorrow threaten to swallow me, help me keep my eyes on You. In Your name, Amen.