God’s Delays Are Not Denials

Do you trust
God’s timing? The path to spiritual maturity requires us to surrender our
selfish deadlines. 

When Mary and
Martha sent news to Jesus that their brother, Lazarus, was about to die, Jesus
didn’t respond the way his friends expected. He actually snubbed their request.
The Bible says when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, “He then stayed two days
longer in the place where He was” (John 11:6, NASB).

For Mary and
Martha, those were two very long days.

Doubts tormented
them. What kind of friend was Jesus, anyway? Why did He ignore their urgent
plea? Why didn’t He drop everything and rush to their aid? Mary was especially
frustrated and distraught about Jesus’ seemingly insensitive delay.

When Jesus finally arrived in Bethany—four days after Lazarus died—a shroud of gloom covered the village. Everybody was in mourning. Mary was overwhelmed by grief and disappointment. Her faith was as cold as Lazarus’ corpse. 

Mary didn’t even
want to talk to Jesus. This woman who was known as a passionate disciple of the
Lord stayed in the house when her sister went outside to ask Jesus why He took
so long (see v. 20). We don’t know exactly what Mary was doing in the house.
Most likely she was sulking, maybe even struggling with feelings of anger
toward Jesus because He didn’t come when she called.

You may relate to
Mary. Many of us get stuck in this same place of disillusionment. We get upset
and confused when God doesn’t work according to our timetable.

Perhaps you have
been asking Jesus to intervene in your crisis. You may need Him to rescue a
wayward child, heal your body, provide for a financial need, restore a broken
relationship or salvage a dream that is on its deathbed. It may seem that Jesus
missed His golden opportunity—or that He was so busy meeting the needs of
others that He just dropped you from His priority list.

Like Mary of
Bethany, you may feel that Jesus waited too long. It’s over. Your problem is
now so serious, and your dream so lifeless, that Jesus cannot help you.

When we face
these frustrating delays, we automatically assume that He is denying us,
neglecting us or rejecting us. So we throw a childish pity party. We go in our
rooms, close our doors, shut out the pain and stay as far away from Jesus as
possible.

We find it too
difficult to pray when we are in a faith crisis. The enemy of our souls tells
us that Jesus doesn’t care, that our prayers are meaningless and that there is
no reward for believing in Him. Some of us, if we have melancholy tendencies,
also beat ourselves up with the familiar “I guess I just don’t have enough
faith” line.

Thankfully Mary
did not stay in her self-made prison of depression. The Bible says that when
Jesus came to her house and got close enough to Lazarus’ tomb to smell the
stench, Mary ran to him and knelt at His feet—the place where she began her
journey of discipleship (see Luke 10:39). After all the moping, she set aside
the blame games and returned to the only place where life’s struggles make
sense.

She knelt in His
presence, not to ask Him why He let Lazarus die but simply to gain strength
from being with Him.

She decided to
grow up. She left behind the whining immaturity that demands Jesus must act a
certain way. She put her trust in Him afresh, letting go of selfish
expectations. When she surrendered her life to Him that day, she was saying
that she would follow Him not only in the good times but also on the darkest
days when she couldn’t see His love through the clouds of death, suffering and
pain.

There, at Jesus’
feet, Mary caught a glimpse of Jesus like she’d never seen Him before. He wept
for His friend Lazarus, and then He commanded his lifeless body to come out of
the tomb. Mary would have missed the miracle if she had stayed in seclusion.
She needed to see with her own eyes that God’s delays are not denials—and that
Jesus’ timing is perfect even when it seems He has forgotten us.

Do you feel as if
Jesus has ignored your request? Does it seem as if your message to Him was
intercepted? Have you been sinking into discouragement because your dream has
died—and Jesus doesn’t care?

Run back to Him
and take your place at His feet. True disciples know that life operates on
God’s schedule, not ours. Press through your doubts, surrender your deadlines,
renounce your impatience and renew your trust in the Lord, who is the sovereign
Lord over your circumstances.  

J. Lee Grady is contributing editor of Charisma and author of the new book  The
Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale. Follow him on Twitter at leegrady.