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 

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die”…

But that’s when Jesus really asked the big question:

“Do you believe this?” 

Friend, today God is asking you:

  • Do you believe this?
  • Do you believe that He is all that you need? 
  • Do you believe that His death covered everything?
  • Do you believe that even though He holds the entire world in His hands,  He still cares even about the little, trivial parts of your life? 
  • And do you believe that He is capable of the impossible?

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!

When we let go of the need to do it for ourselves and believe instead that God wants to do great things through us and for us, we will find ourselves, through God’s power, doing things we never knew we could.

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!

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

This little story in the book of John has an important reminder for all of us. While we will likely never get to see a loved one raised from the dead in our lifetime, that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care about the troubles or details of our lives. 
Whether it’s work, illness or the mundane day to day of life, God wants us to seek Him through all that we do. 
 
When Mary and Martha were upset about their brother, they held nothing back from Jesus. In verse 32, Mary even tells Jesus to His face that if he would have shown up sooner, Lazarus would still be alive!!
 
So bring your every day to God. 
Tell Him when you are upset. 
Ask Him why. 
 
And then believe that you can do all things… but only through His strength. Because in His strength is where the amazing can happen!
 

LET’S TALK:
In the comments below, share a time in your life where you saw God’s stregnth in your life. Think of a time where you know you were incapable of doing it on your own and had to rely on God alone. It can be big or it can be little, I’d love to hear about it!!

 

 

Bible Journaling Prompts

Apply what you’ve learned

♡ I have a challenge for you this week. Each day at the beginning of your day I want you to pray. This is a very specific prayer where you will ask God to guide your steps. Submit your day to Him. Ask Him to work His power through you.


Each day this week before you pray, read out loud one of the following verses. Write that verse in your journal.
  1. Ephesians 3:20
  2. 2 Samuel 22:33 
  3. Job 26:7-14
  4. Romans 15:13 
  5. 2 Peter 1:3 
 
♡ Want to find a simple way to make Bible study a part of your everyday routine? Check here, where I lay out 7 easy steps to personal Bible study.
 
 

Are you reading your Bible Daily?

The first step to recognizing God's grace in your life is spending time in His Word

But sometimes knowing where to start can be daunting. The Quiet Time Journal was created to guide you into God's Word and help you discover just exactly what He is saying to you each day. This valuable tool will help organize your thoughts and bring even more depth and meaningfulness to your personal time in the Word.
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4 Responses

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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. ❤️

    1. 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 ♥️

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