Lent Day 29: Martha

Pause

Spend a few moments listening to a favorite song to help focus your mind and heart on God and His Word. Consider “Resurrection” by Andy Gullahorn on his album The Law of Gravity.

Read & Journal

Read John 11:1-27, focusing on verses 17-27. Reflect with these questions:

• What do you learn about Jesus’ character from His interactions with Martha? About Jesus’ mission or purpose?

• How do you see Jesus entering into human brokenness in today’s verses?

• Have you ever lived through a situation or circumstances where you found yourself asking God, “Where are you?”

• Martha expressed faith in Jesus even though the situation had not turned out how she wanted or expected. How do you express faith in God when you don’t understand what He’s doing?

Ponder

Jesus obviously deeply loved Martha, Mary, and their brother, Lazarus. But when the news comes that Lazarus is sick, Jesus delays His return. When He finally heads to Bethany, He arrives at a sorrowful scene. Lazarus is dead, and mourners have gathered to console the sisters.

Martha was the first to head out to talk with Jesus. It’s easy to imagine her bitterly spitting the words at Jesus—“If you’d only been here, things would have been different”—but since her words come with a statement of faith, it is unfair to read bitterness or anger into the text. These are the words of a grieving woman wishing that circumstances had been different. Martha clearly believed Jesus was capable of healing the sick, and she thought He could have done something to help Lazarus if only He’d arrived “on time.”

When Jesus says that Lazarus will rise again, Martha agrees, affirming her faith. Lazarus would rise again in a general resurrection at the end of times, she says, something the Pharisees believed and taught. Jesus wanted Martha to understand a new reality, though, even in the midst of her grief. “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” Jesus said. He wasn’t just a healer; He was the vanquisher of death. He doesn’t just have the power to forgive sin; He possesses power over life and death. Martha thought she understood the situation, but Jesus opened her eyes to a new understanding.

In a difficult season, it’s easy to wonder where God is. When a situation isn’t resolved in the way we hoped, we question His goodness. When God isn’t “on time” according to our timetable, we wonder why He isn’t acting, why He isn’t doing something. When God seems silent or we simply don’t see any way He could work in the circumstances that have upended our lives, we sometimes doubt Him—that He is good, that He cares, that He’s at work. Where are you, God? Why aren’t you doing something? Why did it have to be this way?

Martha didn’t understand. She couldn’t see the big picture or how Jesus could use this terrible situation for His glory or purposes. Even so, faith is sprinkled throughout her responses to Jesus. Today, in the middle of circumstances you don’t understand or grief you don’t think you can bear, turn to Jesus in faith, even if it’s just a tiny, flickering candle in the darkest night. Let Him, the Resurrection and the Life, show you a new reality.