If God Loves Us Why Does He Make Us Wait?

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he [Lazarus] was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.”

I’m sorry…come again?! I couldn’t believe what I heard. Because he loved them he stayed where he was? Because he loves them He waited. 

Why would a loving God delay meeting the needs of His people when they desperately need Him? These people weren’t strangers to Jesus, they were his friends! In case you’re not familiar with the story of Lazarus.

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.  (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

John 11:1-7

The Wait Wasn’t Punishment

Jesus was only 2 miles away from the city Mary and Martha lived in.  He was so close and He still waited! Why? Verse 4 tells us that the reason behind all of this was so that God’s Son (i.e Jesus) would be glorified.

What Mary and Martha wanted most was for their brother to be healed. However, God knew that’s not what they needed most. They needed to know the power of God in a bleak situation and have their faith developed. It felt like Jesus was ignoring them but he wasn’t. He heard their request immediately and spoke the word that it would not end in death. Even before they saw the miracle, Jesus spoke it into existence. It was just a matter of time before they experienced what God had already done.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

What You Need Now vs What You Need Most

I recently heard a pastor say,  “In the wait, something is happening inside of you that is more important than the manifestation of your miracle”. You see, waiting produces things in you that instant gratification never will. Waiting is where you the roots of your faith grow deeper. Waiting is where faithfulness and patience are developed.  In the wait you find out if you fully trust God or if you’re still tempted to turn back to the idols He delivered you from.  

 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.  We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

What we need now and what we need most aren’t always the same thing. Maybe you need money right now but God hasn’t blessed you financially because you need to learn that He is your source, not a job. Like Mary and Martha, we need to trust the power of God and have our faith developed.

God was faithful to Mary and Martha 2000 years ago and He’s still the same. If you’re waiting on God and losing hope or growing frustrated know that He hasn’t abandoned you. Just because the miracle didn’t come right away doesn’t mean it won’t come at all. He heard your prayer and He’s working it out for your good and His glory (Romans 8:28). 

All Things For Your Good

When the bible says that God works all things together for our good and His glory, it’s not simply referring to what will make you happy, but what will make you holy. It’s good for us to have a full bank account, enjoy our job, and, never experience sickness in our body. But it can also be good for you to develop perseverance, have your weaknesses exposed so that you learn to rely on God instead of yourself, and have your plans wrecked so you can experience God’s plan instead. This doesn’t mean that God wants you to be miserable. It just means that a situation doesn’t have to be good in order for God to bring good from it.

If we’re going to stay the course and truly live out our Christian faith then those experiences are necessary. More than knowing that God can, we need to simply know God. Life doesn’t get easier, but God makes us stronger. The trials and tragedies we experience can be devastating, but if we can learn to trust God through them, God will be glorified and we’ll develop a faith that cannot be shaken.

God is working on your behalf even when you can’t see it. Do you believe that or do you doubt his faithfulness when he takes longer than you’d like? There is no shame in either answer. Faith is something that grows and develops if we allow it to; if we surrender and let God work in us. God will meet you where you are when you’re honest about where you are. The wait is temporary, but He wants to do in you is for eternity.