November 8

Jesus delayed on purpose so on his arrival, Lazarus was dead. He delayed 2 days and Lazarus was dead for 4 days and probably more because the Jews didn’t bury people right away. The fact of the matter was that Jesus did delay and that delay meant more suffering. In fact Lazarus had to die twice for this God glorifying act. That is a bummer! Dying of any disease isn’t easy – I was thinking about the suffering he must have gone through and how hard it may have been. God didn’t rescue him from his suffering, but Jesus did raise him from the dead. God didn’t save Mary and Martha from their suffering/mourning either. That is what I was thinking about while I read. In fact I think this fact really hit Jesus and he broke down in tears twice! Even though He knew He was about to raise Lazarus up from the dead, He was overwhelmed with the thought of all the suffering. He doesn’t like us suffering, but He knows it is necessary at times. His heart aches when we suffer.

Thank you for your constant revelation Papa.