Daily Prayer Guide - Passion Week - Promises for the 'Now What?'

 Promises for the ‘Now What?’

Read: John 11:32-44

³² When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴ “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

³⁵ Jesus wept.

³⁶ Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

³⁷ But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Listen: I Will Wait For You (Psalm 130): Shane & Shane

Consider: Jesus was dead.  This is a quiet & lonely day  – The body was in the tomb, the stone was rolled in place and the guards were stationed.  There was nothing left to do, but endure the long, quiet and lonely Sabbath, the day God’s people were to meet with him. But for some days, meeting with God can be so hard to do when there is so much shock, so many questions, so many emotions, so many unknowns.    He was gone.  It was all over.  Now what?

It is precisely in those moments that God himself meets us with compassion.  Like Jesus met the sisters of Lazarus days after his death.  Jesus, the God/man, was moved with compassion, his heart was broken and he wept.  He has great compassion for those he loves.  He reminds them of his promise of the resurrection.  A promise that may seem ridiculous to some, but for those who know him, his promise was like the light that would break through the darkness of despair. 

There are many in our world today who are reeling from the effects of coronavirus.  This has been a rough ride for so many of us.  Many have gotten sick, some we know, many we have heard of.   Many have died; leaving spouses, family, loved ones, friends.  The heartbreaking stories of people dying alone, isolated from their loved ones is so difficult to take in.   Millions of people have lost their jobs.  Companies have had to close.  Their futures seem bleak and uncertain.  ‘Now what?’ 

Remember Jesus told us these kinds of days will come and we should not be surprised when they do. And when they do we go back to the promises that Jesus made.  The strength of a promise lies in the times before it’s fulfillment  - we know that because we need them to make it through our days.  We need promises, we rely on promises, especially God’s because they give us the light and hope in the midst of dark days.

Lazarus’ sisters heard Jesus’ astounding promise while they stood in their grief. 

John 11:25-16 “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Mary and Martha both believed and they saw the unimaginable happen, their brother walk out of his tomb.  For the followers of Jesus, this is the day of promise, they don’t know when, they don’t know how, they don’t know what’s next, but they wait in the darkness of the day with the light of His promise because they believe.  What about you? Do you believe this?

Prayer: Father, help us.  These are dark days for us, they were dark for the disciples too.  They saw Jesus die and wondered “what’s next?” Father, we carry so many doubts and fears of our days ahead and we are so grateful for Jesus’ promise that He is the resurrection and the life – that we can experience life in him.  We cling to that promise and find strength for this day, thank you for your compassion in the midst of our struggle.

·      Express to God how grateful you are to him for his promises of life.

·      Express to him the challenges you have in facing this day and tell him how much you believe in Jesus’ promises.

·      Ask him to be close to those struggling with the effects of coronavirus, to bring healing to the sick, comfort to those who have lost loved ones and hope to those facing uncertain futures.

·      Thank Him that we can always come to him – even in our darkest days – and find the light of his promises to guide us through them.

Thank you Father for loving us so much to never leave us in the dark but that you have given us the strength of your promises, help us cling to them and find them to be true.

Meditate: 

John 11:25-16 “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”