a bent bible and a fractured faith
1- Why would our loving God let bad things happen to good people?
2- If God was able to prevent this with the snap of his fingers, why didn’t he?
3- GOD WHY?
Those are all very real questions I’ve been asking God & myself this past month. Then a mentor of mine directed me to John 11:1-44– titled “The Death of Lazarus”. So this... this was the night I picked my bible off the ground. Feeling a heartbreak like no other, that’s where I had intended to leave it. Broken. Angry. Confused. But it was time to open the crinkled and bent pages, having no place left to turn.
For those who aren’t familiar with this story, there was a man named Lazarus who was dying, who happened to be one of Jesus’s best friends.
In the time of a tragedy like this, man... your faith in God, your foundation is fractured due to your circumstances once you start asking those 3 questions. You’re angry. You’re confused. You’re broken. You’re doubting God because your faith is now fractured. Then, maybe you begin to realize it’s time to have a “come to Jesus” moment WITH Jesus. In John 11 Martha, Lazarus’s sister, is in this place a lot of us are in today.
“if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”- John 11:21
But what Jesus is trying to get through to her is that it’s not what you understand... but what you believe.
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?””- John 11:25-26
Jesus reiterated this to Martha many times, but in the midst of being angry, confused, and broken Martha didn’t understand the deeper meaning of what Jesus was saying. What he was telling her was I am not the preventer... but I am the resurrector. In verse 11 Jesus refers to Lazarus’s condition as him falling “asleep”, but the disciples misunderstood that he had actually died. This is because Jesus is seeing his condition in his perspective... to him death is EASY to overcome! If God had left it up to us, death would be the end. But, the good news is it’s not in our hands... in Gods hands death is only the beginning! So, don’t let what you don’t understand about God or his plan, put you in disbelief of who God is.
Because I know:
1- “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” - Psalm 147:3
God WILL mend the brokenness in my faith & my heart.
2- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”- Jeremiah 29:11
This is a part of his plan, somehow, good will come out of every circumstance. Sometimes, the best way to get to your destination is through the pit & through the tragedy and hurt. Gods plan is bigger than ours and is for the better every time.
3- “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Always let him lead you,and he will direct your path.”- Proverbs 3:5-6
I may not understand HOW good will come out of these circumstances... but I know God to be good, lean on him, not your understanding. God is the resurrector... and that’s the good news. Let him take the wheel here, let him make beginnings out of dead ends. Trust his power.
4- “Jesus wept.”- John 11:35
Jesus was man... he felt every earthly feeling as we do. He’s been there. Jesus lost his best friend as many of us did. So aren’t alone, someone really does know how you feel.
These next few months, pray for fractured faiths and broken hearts to be mended again.
2- If God was able to prevent this with the snap of his fingers, why didn’t he?
3- GOD WHY?
Those are all very real questions I’ve been asking God & myself this past month. Then a mentor of mine directed me to John 11:1-44– titled “The Death of Lazarus”. So this... this was the night I picked my bible off the ground. Feeling a heartbreak like no other, that’s where I had intended to leave it. Broken. Angry. Confused. But it was time to open the crinkled and bent pages, having no place left to turn.
For those who aren’t familiar with this story, there was a man named Lazarus who was dying, who happened to be one of Jesus’s best friends.
In the time of a tragedy like this, man... your faith in God, your foundation is fractured due to your circumstances once you start asking those 3 questions. You’re angry. You’re confused. You’re broken. You’re doubting God because your faith is now fractured. Then, maybe you begin to realize it’s time to have a “come to Jesus” moment WITH Jesus. In John 11 Martha, Lazarus’s sister, is in this place a lot of us are in today.
“if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”- John 11:21
But what Jesus is trying to get through to her is that it’s not what you understand... but what you believe.
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?””- John 11:25-26
Jesus reiterated this to Martha many times, but in the midst of being angry, confused, and broken Martha didn’t understand the deeper meaning of what Jesus was saying. What he was telling her was I am not the preventer... but I am the resurrector. In verse 11 Jesus refers to Lazarus’s condition as him falling “asleep”, but the disciples misunderstood that he had actually died. This is because Jesus is seeing his condition in his perspective... to him death is EASY to overcome! If God had left it up to us, death would be the end. But, the good news is it’s not in our hands... in Gods hands death is only the beginning! So, don’t let what you don’t understand about God or his plan, put you in disbelief of who God is.
Because I know:
1- “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” - Psalm 147:3
God WILL mend the brokenness in my faith & my heart.
2- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”- Jeremiah 29:11
This is a part of his plan, somehow, good will come out of every circumstance. Sometimes, the best way to get to your destination is through the pit & through the tragedy and hurt. Gods plan is bigger than ours and is for the better every time.
3- “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Always let him lead you,and he will direct your path.”- Proverbs 3:5-6
I may not understand HOW good will come out of these circumstances... but I know God to be good, lean on him, not your understanding. God is the resurrector... and that’s the good news. Let him take the wheel here, let him make beginnings out of dead ends. Trust his power.
4- “Jesus wept.”- John 11:35
Jesus was man... he felt every earthly feeling as we do. He’s been there. Jesus lost his best friend as many of us did. So aren’t alone, someone really does know how you feel.
These next few months, pray for fractured faiths and broken hearts to be mended again.