Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
August 27, 2021
Read John 11:1-16
1 A certain man, Lazarus, was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ( 2 This was the Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was ill.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This illness isn’t fatal. It’s for the glory of God so that God’s Son can be glorified through it.” 5 Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was. After two days, 7 he said to his disciples, “Let’s return to Judea again.” 8 The disciples replied, “Rabbi, the Jewish opposition wants to stone you, but you want to go back?” 9 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours in the day? Whoever walks in the day doesn’t stumble because they see the light of the world. 10 But whoever walks in the night does stumble because the light isn’t in them.” 11 He continued, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I am going in order to wake him up.” 12 The disciples said, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he will get well.” 13 They thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was in a deep sleep, but Jesus had spoken about Lazarus’ death. 14 Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 For your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there so that you can believe. Let’s go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other disciples, “Let us go too so that we may die with Jesus.”
Good Morning! God makes all things beautiful in His time!
I find comfort in things that occur each year as we move around the sun. This week I started seeing the constellation, Orion, in the morning sky just before dawn. No matter what else seems to change, I can count on Orion being in its place, as I take notice and marvel at God’s creation.
For us, understanding God’s time is very difficult. Most of us are somewhat rigid in our interpretation of time because we are required to have time schedules for work and even in our leisure time. We are constantly engaged in knowing the minute and the hour so that we can manage our day and not forget to do something important.
When we read the scriptures, we have a hard time understanding the idea that God’s time is quite different than ours. When we pray, we want immediate or “timely” answers according to our concept of time. God answers our prayers in His time as evidenced in the story of Lazarus’ death. May we have the faith to believe that God will make all things beautiful in His time.
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. Thank you for sending Jesus to teach us how to live. May we grow in faith as we learn to expect that you take care of all things in Your way and Your time. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Even when my prayers seem unanswered, God still loves me.
God is Good! All the time! Pastor Liz
Thank you so much for this message this morning! God is speaking!! Amen🙏🏼. This is something I have been seeming to be fighting with for a good while! I know God has went before me to fight the battles; but at time’s I just feel like I’m crumbling down, trying to have faith and trust that God has a plan! Just not knowing sometimes is so very hard! But knowing God’s plan is perfect makes it a little better! When you feel like God isn’t listening to your prayers; he has hard your prayers but it’s not the perfect timing yet!