As a small business owner, one of my biggest hurdles is my own confidence. I know what I’m capable of doing, I know what I need to do. But for some reason I find myself doubting the things that I know to be true and allowing those doubts to form the structure of my day. When I realize I can’t do all of the things I need to do, I quickly get overwhelmed and end up getting NOTHING done. It’s a vicious cycle.
But as a Christian woman, I often have to remind myself that I honestly can’t do any of these things through my own strength. And it’s not until I let go of the pressure I put on myself to succeed and instead turn to God that things fall into place.
Today I was reading the story in John 11 about the time that Jesus went to comfort Mary and Martha when their brother, Lazarus had passed away. They were hoping that Jesus would heal Lazarus, but he didn’t arrive until 4 days AFTER they buried him.
Jesus tells Martha “Your brother will rise again.”
In verse 24, you hear Martha respond to Jesus with an almost “sunday-school” kind of answer…
She says,”I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” Almost like she’s reciting what she knows as the truth, not daring to believe that Jesus literally meant that Lazarus would RISE AGAIN!
The next line, where Jesus responds really spoke to my heart today. In verse 25, He says to Mary
But that’s when Jesus really asked the big question:
If we go back further in the story, at the beginning of chapter 11 verse 4, Jesus told the sisters that:
“This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s son may be glorified through it”
When we surrender our agendas and our ideas of successful outcomes, God is able and likely to show us more than we could ever hope for or begin to imagine. When we stop trying to push through in our own strength, we allow room for God to reveal just how powerful and loving He is!
Mary and Martha couldn’t stop their brother from succumbing to his illness. And they knew that once he was gone, he was gone. Verse 40 in this chapter brings us to the moment where Mary and Martha’s faith in who Jesus was and what He could do brought this story to an amazing climax!
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4 Responses
God has helped me in many ways. Without God I wouldn’t of survived everything after the death of my husband(2010). Had terrible dating experiences which taught me to take better care of myself. Now in a new relationship which is going good. God is guiding us one day at a time. Also you must love yourself & take care of yourself too. I’ve learned communication is very important. God works in many ways.
Maybe one of the saddest things we do is to come to God with our mask on and hide our true emotions and feelings and fears. Honesty with Him is the best healing comes to us
It is only by the grace of God that I have been able to endure what I have gone through. Angie, I know you understand why I share my past with others. It has not been an easy 6 months, but He is sustaining me. ❤️
Thank you so much for sharing! Just like in the story we read in tonights devotional, Jesus said raising Lazarus was all for God’s glory. All that you go through is your testimony, and you share it freely to give God the glory! That is so awesome ♥️