A repost from May 7, 2015. Be encouraged – anew.

This morning, reading John 11, the following catches my attention:

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was” ~ vs. 5-6.

This passage has caught my eye before, but this morning, it stops me for a pondering moment. Jesus loved them, so He waited, postponing his response to their need. Why?

Two possible reasons come to mind immediately: so their need would reach a point beyond human intervention; and so their experience of God’s hand working to meet their need would be beyond imagination.

I have long understood that we cannot truly comprehend the good end of a continuum until we understand its opposite. We cannot truly discern what love is without some experience of hate. We cannot know how great our God without experiencing our need for Him. We cannot discern how awesome God’s presence with us without some experience of life apart from Him.

God’s purpose is always to fulfill His good word. He does so in a way that reveals Himself to us, contrasting His personality, presence and power, from that of the natural. Moreover, He does so in a way that not only gives us life more abundant and full, but that births within us a sincere gratitude for all He gives to us. When He does finally take action on our behalf, He does so in ways that touch the lives of those around us, giving hope to them for His help in their life-circumstances.

In my life journey, I have discovered that God often waits while that mustard seed of faith in me sprouts and puts down deeper roots. (Faith requires something hoped for while yet unseen.) As a tree puts down deeper roots and gains a stronger hold into the earth during seasons when drought and high winds causes it to reach deep into the earth, so that which makes us reach deep into God strengthens our foundation of faith, increasing our commitment to believe in, trust in and rely upon Him.

So, Beloved, “let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint” (Galatians 6:9, AMP. See also 2 Corinthians 4:1; Romans 5:1-5).

Be careful not to give yourself to thinking God’s patience is a lack of care. He loves you! Therefore, He waits for the best time to produce the greatest results that reveal His love in unfathomable depths of glory.