'TAKE AWAY THE STONE'

John 11:39 "Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days."

Lazarus was sick.  Jesus was notified, but He did not respond as the family thought that He should. In actuality, Jesus did not go to heal Lazarus of his ailment, but Jesus had a plan for him. Verse 6 of John 11 states, "When He (Jesus ) had heard therefore that he was sick, He(Jesus) abode two days still in the same place where He was."

There are times when we are faced with situations that are overwhelming

and overpowering, and we pray sincerely to God for help, but none seems to be forthcoming. We must be confident that in every situation, God has a purpose, which He will fulfill according to His timetable, not ours. So Lazarus was extremely sick and he died.

In our verse of focus, Jesus was at Lazarus' grave. He gave the command, "Take ye away the stone". The stone was the barrier between Jesus and Lazarus, who was His friend. The stone was in the way of what Jesus was about to do. It required an act of faith to take away the stone. Jesus could have rolled away the stone, but wanted a display of faith to precede what He was about to do. When we exhibit faith, it means that we have the substance of what is hoped for and we trust Jesus to provide the evidence that is not seen.

Maratha thought that it was necessary to remind Jesus that Lazarus was dead for four days, and  therefore his body was in a state of putrefaction and decomposition. She said, "Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days."  In reality,  Lazarus' body was rotting. From the human perspective, nothing could be done for him. Lazarus was beyond help. He was beyond hope; beyond restoration. Why? Jesus was too late. Jesus was four days late.

Jesus' view of any situation never aligns with ours. When we see the situation as dire, dreadful or disastrous, Jesus sees it as a prime time to showcase the miraculous power and glory of God. Our impossibilities are always His possibilities.

Like Maratha, we sometimes think that our situation stinks; that it is offensive or obnoxious, but Jesus sees the situation before it starts and He knows how it will end. He had a plan for Lazarus and He has one for each of us. Regardless of the state of our situation, Jesus' intention is to bring change; to bring relief and to bring comfort. Jesus gets to the heart of the matter and deals with our problems. May we trust Jesus, who is the Wonderful Counselor; the Mighty God; the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace, (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus wants us to partner with Him and by faith, and 'take away the stone'- the barrier of disobedience; the barrier of stubbornness or that of pride, and wait for Him to act miraculously on our behalf.