4/1 Through the Bible in Devotions

John 11

“When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” (v. 4)

There is much false doctrine being taught in the church today, and much of it is by good men who mean well, but are themselves caught up in the confusion of the times. One of the teachings to which I refer is that the Lord does not inflict any with sickness, but wants everyone to be healed. I believe it is easy to see that Lazarus’ situation was created especially for the glory of God, and that there was no need for worry about it, because God was in control throughout the ordeal. In this account, we see several important things that are worthy of note, but the main thrust of the devotion for today is that there are things that we go through that are solely for the purpose of glorifying the Father. When others see Him work miracles in our life, it glorifies Him before them all. This event did much for the glory of God. We ought to be ready, and available for the Lord to use, whether it is in health, or in sickness; in poverty or in prosperity; in peace or in turmoil, whatever the situation, whatever the malady, we need to be vessels of honor for His use. Yes, it is an honor to be used in this way. What if we were totally ignored throughout our Christian life? We would fell very unappreciated, and lonely, and probably wonder if the Lord even cared for us. We become a “chosen vessel” of Honor to the Lord, because we get to glorify Him in some way, and that raises us above the mediocre and the “normal”. I personally thank God that He allows us to go through some things for His honor and glory, but the honor is really ours! Though much sorrow was in it, think of the joy that they had when Lazarus was restored to life. Sorrow never lasts long when Jesus is present. Think of this too, whom did they run to when there was a great need in their lives? Jesus, that’s who, the one who could handle the situation easily. They were right in saying that if He would have been there, Lazarus would not have died, because Jesus is life (Jn. 14: 6), no one can die in His presence.

The fame of this account no doubt swept the countryside, and Christ was exalted by it. Lazarus too was honored in that He was the vessel that God used to receive the glory in. Verse 5 tells us that Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and it was because of His love for them that He chose Lazarus as the special vessel to glorify Him and the Father. When you are chosen to suffer on His behalf, rejoice in it, and realize that you were chosen for it because God loves you, and by it you too get a chance to glorify the Lord.