Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
John 11:5-7, New King James Version
Honestly, it’s embarrassing how many trips to the coffee pot I have made before sitting and settling within myself that it’s time to write this post. Mostly because it’s been six months before I have been able to write, but let’s give it a fresh go. As with any word, please test it and try it in your spirit.
In the last five months, I have walked through a lot of challenging days including a traumatic situation that happened in my husband and I’s life. Without detail, it is His grace and mercy that I can write about “resurrection.” The irony is that in a sense I have been resurrected from a difficult season filled with anxiety that was end-capped by an unexpected life-threatening incident at the start of the year. Even though it’s not time to testify in detail, I am so thankful to be here. He has healed my body, and given me the grace to mentally push through. I am incredibly thankful for caring and attentive doctors, my steadfast and prayerful husband, wonderful parents and in-laws, and every prayer from those closest who have helped me. It was mentally exhausting, but I am back with a fresh fierceness I never thought imaginable. Do I have perfect days? Absolutely not. My heart, mind, and spirit have been and are being kindled to a place of revival that I am so excited about. He has torn through mental darkness and stress and allowed my husband and I to put fresh roots into the ground of His heart. The last few months have not been easy and it has taken courage to sit and write again. But, I have a feeling it will be rewarding for you and me. He works all things together for our good, and my prayer is that you see His goodness in your life like I have seen it in mine. I don’t understand fully why what happened did, but I settled within myself that I would trust Him without question. My heart has grieved like no other time in my life, but I can confidently testify that He is a good, kind, loving, and faithful Father.
So this post comes to you after months of waiting on Him to revive and restore me. I have seen up close and personal what His resurrection power can do. In the Spirit, I am sensing a desperate cry for resurrection throughout the body of Christ. Every conversation I have had in the last two weeks points to the word “resurrection.” We love using that word on Easter Sunday, but there is something significant that is shifting and stirring in the atmosphere. True, identifiable resurrection is stirring among God’s children. But, because of the waiting process many have been enduring, some have gotten stuck at the grave of the seemingly dead things in their lives. I see that shifting in this season as His Spirit moves to the tombs of buried visions, plans, hopes, dreams, and promises. Plans some thought were for the Kingdom, buried because they never flourished. Ministries and leaders that fell by the wayside and were buried, are coming back to life better than how they were left. Promises forgotten about or given up on are coming to completion. Revival that seems to have been missed, is catching fire again. Children who are prodigals, we will see them come home. Kingdom leaders who are searching for peace will be found in the mercy of the Father. Unsettled matters that have torn apart families will be settled with understanding. Sleeping Christians who need revival in their hearts will wake up out of their slumber. Awake, oh sleepers! We declare the dead things will wake up when the King passes by! Go back to the tomb you once mourned at, and watch as the King rolls away the stone and calls forth new life. A new thing is springing up – it’s resurrection time!
The Dying Plant
I know seeing an ugly plant is not what you were expecting but hang with me.
I am a huge plant enthusiast. I like to think of my home as a little piece of Eden (or a jungle) with all of my plants. I have vines, small ones with flowers, cacti and some hanging out of jars as they root to be replanted. Despite my husband’s best efforts, I can’t stop bringing home new plants and somehow finding space for them. There are, though, those plants that I bring home and after a few weeks they begin to react in a less-than-beautiful way. Normally they all begin to thrive, but there is always that one that puts up a fuss. Maybe they liked the water at Lowe’s better than at my house, or maybe the sun and temperature were just so much better at the local plant shop; Whatever the excuse, I do my best to save them and grow them bigger and better. Enter the pictures above.
This plant is called a Dumb Cane or Dieffenbachia. (You can look up the picture because it would be embarrassing to post a side-by-side.) I bought this plant assuming it would like bright light, but after a few weeks, it let me know that it did not like the bright sun. Normally, I am pretty patient with plants, but for whatever reason I got incredibly frustrated with this one. I shoved it in a dark corner of my office and left it looking ugly. Granted, I still looked at it every day, always thinking – today is the day I throw you in the garbage.
Well, on the day I finally had the heart to toss it, I looked over and said to myself, “Today is the day, plant. I’m throwing you away.” As I went to remove it, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me – “I am going to teach you about resurrection through this plant.” Floored, I stopped reaching for it and instead tended to my other plants throughout the day.
I saved this one until the end of the day to tend to it. Reluctantly, I put it in my kitchen sink and felt the nudge to take some pictures of it. You will see in the three pictures above the big brown leaves. Mind you these used to be a beautiful green and white, but not anymore. I began trimming the leaves off and had a small pile with no hope in my spirit. Until…
If you look closely (really close) I noticed four new shoots that were beginning to sprout. I was shocked, y’all…shocked. This plant, despite my better judgment, was still alive and is still living. I cleaned it up, fertilized it, and placed it back into my office in a less sunny spot so it could continue to grow. Even now as I write, the shoots are still growing longer and I anticipate a new leaf to be unfolding within a few weeks.
Lessons in the Wait
Perhaps the thing I am learning the most from my plant is that resurrection requires a waiting period. The object lesson with my bare, but growing plant isn’t over. And daily I have looked at it with all hope that soon, it will be back thriving and better than ever. But it isn’t there yet. While I wait for its new growth, I am reminded that what seems dead isn’t too far gone. What seems dead in your life, isn’t…but, you have to look again.
All thanks to my husband, he has been chatting about Lazarus for the last couple of weeks. I have been studying Elijah and Elisha, but I got curious and read the story of Lazarus again for myself. When I read it, I stopped on the below verse which I opened this post with –
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
John 11:5-7, New King James Version
My heart translated this to – Because Jesus loved them, He waited. That’s a hard pill to swallow without the understanding of verse four. It lets us know why.
When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
John 11:4, New King James Version
The Martha in me wants to ask the same question from a troubled heart of not understanding – why did You wait, Lord? But, I love that Mary asked the same question but because of her heart posture, she moved Jesus to tears. May our hearts be close to His in our questions. He could have sent healing in a moment to revive Lazarus, but Jesus let him stay dead for four solid days. The mourners had already shown up because all hope was lost. Have you ever done the same? Allowed the mourning in your life to be louder than His presence because you didn’t think He cared to show up?
When Jesus waits it makes us uncomfortable because we expect resurrection to be instant. Our humanness forgets that the process of resurrection requires death, first, and then new life, second. It’s not comfortable by any means, nor is it convenient. But it’s necessary for our faith so it can be strengthened in the wait. What we can see between Martha and Mary is similar to other interactions they had with Jesus, and it all boiled down to their heart posture. Without history with Him, we will easily forget that He does His best work in the wait. Even when we forget His promises or think they are dead, He is still working.
He’s Always On Time
I grew up listening to Southern Gospel music, and while I prefer much more updated worship music, those roots sometimes pop up and I can’t deny my sweet momma or grandma for raising me on Southern Gospel.
There’s a song from 2000 by Karen Peck and New River called “Four Days Late” that keeps ringing through my mind as we enter into this new shift.
Check out these lyrics from the song below:
You may be fighting a battle of fear
Karen Peck and New River / Songwriters: Charles Aaron Wilburn / Roberta Wilburn
You’ve cried to the Lord, I need You now
But He has not appeared
Friend don’t be discouraged
‘Cause He’s still the same
He’ll soon be here, He’ll roll back the stone
And He’ll call out your name (call out your name)
When He’s four days late and all hope is gone
Lord, we don’t understand why You’ve waited so long
But His way is God’s way, not yours or mine
And isn’t it great, when He’s four days late
He’s still on time (He’s still on time)
God, it’s great, when He’s four days late
He’s still on time (He’s still on time)
(On time)
Four Days Late lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
I hadn’t listened to this song in over 20 years, and I was weeping when I found it and listened again. How many times do we fight fear and it seems like we do it alone? How many stones have we refused to roll away because we don’t trust Him to call out the dead thing? The enemy will do his best to convince us that God is nowhere to be found, but hold fast, friend, He is coming.
The end of John 11:7 says that Jesus and His disciples went back to Judea. The name of the town Judea signifies praise and, friend, that’s when He shows up in our lives. While the mourners and sisters of Lazarus were not praising that day, may we be reminded that praise is the key to our breakthrough.
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.
Psalm 42:5, English Standard Version
I love the part of the song that says – “Lord, we don’t understand why You’ve waited so long. But His way is God’s way, not yours or mine. And isn’t it great, when He’s four days late, He’s still on time.”
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:8-11, New International Version
How much freedom is there in knowing that His ways, thoughts, actions, and timing are not like ours? I know the burden of feeling like everything has to be figured out for it to make sense, but let’s be honest, His glory through the resurrection of our situations can’t shine as it was meant to when we feel the burden of controlling our situations. Stand firm in these truths:
What He intends doesn’t come back void. What He speaks doesn’t come back false. Everything He sends forth accomplishes in perfect fulfillment and completion what it was meant to. Resurrection is on the way. Jesus, the resurrection and the life, is on the way. And isn’t that great?
The difficult truth is that His love for us compels Him to wait. Not because He can’t, but because His glorification is best. Is it always easy? I would argue it’s never easy. But that’s not our burden. Just like everything Jesus did with His disciples, He does things and allows things to build our faith.
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:7, New Living Translation
This verse in Colossians is a great example of allowing Him to be our foundation so our faith can grow strong. When our faith grows strong because of our history with Jesus, we can praise and live in gratitude. Paul knew best that the temporary trials and tribulations were nothing compared to the glory that is coming (2 Corinthians 4:17).
He is coming to heal, revive, restore, and raise what we deem as dead in our lives. Friend, it’s resurrection season. I believe the coming months are going to bring forth clarity, and understanding and be filled with testimonies of new life springing forth.
Perhaps I’ll close with this – in John’s narrative (John 20:11-18) of Jesus’ resurrection he says that when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb she thought Jesus was the gardener who had taken His body away. But Jesus caught her attention in the middle of her weeping and she realized it was Him. For the last five months, I have pondered over and over the beauty of this parallel. The woman He set free and changed the course of her life was standing at His empty tomb speaking to Him as though He was the gardener…because He is the Gardener. Her life with Him had been cultivated, rooted, and grounded in His love. She saw miracles and was herself a miracle of His delivering power. I believe she saw Him as she was meant to see Him.
Redemption and resurrection happen in the garden with Jesus. Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden painted a path for Jesus to meet us where our humanity was last left. If a gardener should know anything it’s when a seemingly dead plant needs tending to. They cut back what doesn’t belong, feed the soil, clean the roots, and give water so it can be strengthened for new growth. I don’t think I will ever not mention the metaphor of the garden and Gardener in our lives. Its beauty and truth are tangible in so many ways, not to mention in my journey with my “resurrection plant.” I am so thankful that He plants us and roots us in Him no matter how long we are waiting for our tomb to be opened on the “dead” things in our lives. What this story shows is that is He the resurrection, and He is the Gardener who cultivates us to life on the other side of our tombs. May we put our faith in Jesus. We just need Jesus. I am reminded by the Holy Spirit to not complicate Jesus and who He is. He is the resurrection and life and through everything, He will be glorified.
Jesus, let us see you today as the Man in the garden calling out to the graves. May we respond to You when You call us by name. May we catch a glimpse of Your beauty as You tend to us in the wait. Lord, come and wake up the dead things we have forgotten to tend. Come and revive our gardens and open our tombs of lost dreams, plans, visions, and passion. Spark in our souls new life! Stir us up, Holy Spirit, to know that it’s the same power that raised Jesus from the dead that lives inside of us! Help us walk out of the grave and into freedom. Thank you for stepping into our gardens today with resurrection and life. Thank you, Jesus.
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