When we’ve been praying for something for a long time, we can become discouraged when it doesn’t seem to be happening. We keep expectantly praying, we keep hoping, but nothing seems to change. We begin to tire in our prayers, we start expecting nothing to happen. We lose hope. The Bible says: ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick.’ When the things we hope for are not being fulfilled, we become ‘heartsick’. Jesus went to visit Mary and Martha when He heard that their brother Lazarus had died. These sisters had two different encounters with Jesus. When Martha saw Him, she said: ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask’ (John 11:21-22 NCV). Mary’s encounter went like this: ‘When she saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”’ (John 11:32 NCV). Martha acknowledged that Jesus could still do something amazing. She was looking ahead with hope. Mary was looking back at the fact that Jesus hadn’t prevented her brother’s death. It can be easy to lose hope in our situations, to even cry out to God that if He’d done something this wouldn’t have happened in our lives. But we need to remember that with God everything is possible and still hope that He’ll perform a miracle. Mary and Martha knew that Jesus could have saved their brother, but He did an even greater miracle by raising him from the dead. What if our disappointments and waiting are because God’s about to do a miracle even greater than the one we’re asking for? Let’s keep looking ahead like Martha and trust God’s got it under control.

What Now?

What’s your Lazarus? What’s happened in your life that you’ve lost hope about? Spend some time thinking about how this is affecting your relationship with God, and then pray for the strength to look ahead with hope.