“if thou would believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God!”
“if thou would believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God!”
LaDonna 0:00
Welcome to Healing Waters – The Podcasts!
I am LaDonna Sanders, here to remind you that God wants you well in your mind, body, soul, and spirit!
III John 1:2 says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."
Join me as we check out what good news our creator has to say in today's Healing Waters Devotional!
LaDonna 0:27.6
Healing Waters - Day 49
John 11:32-45 - Then, when Mary came where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?” Then they took away the stone [a]from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by, I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.” Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.
Jesus wept! The devotional scripture says He groaned within himself. I believed the tears and groaning stemmed from disappointment and frustration. Those closest to him, like Mary, Martha, and the disciples, all appear to be lacking in faith and ignorant of His true potential. On route to Mary and Martha’s home, He must stop and explain to His disciples that Lazarus is not sleeping but dead. When he arrives, Martha and many Jewish bystanders are commenting about what they feel He could have done had he arrived earlier. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the one sent by God to redeem the world from destruction, is annoyed! He has been on a deliberate mission to promote the Kingdom of God, preaching, teaching, and performing miracles, and yet He finds Himself still surrounded by unbelief and criticism.
A stone is blocking the grave. When Jesus requests that it be rolled away, Martha responds, “Lord, by this time he stinks for he hath been dead four days.” Jesus replies, “if thou would believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” Martha’s words were a picture of her heart. Martha has little faith! Her comments indicate that she believed that Jesus could heal Lazarus while he was still living, but now that Lazarus is dead, she is distraught and does not believe anything can be done.
Have you ever been in a crisis of some sort and thought it was too late? Have you ever needed something and found yourself surrounded by people who don’t believe God’s Word as you do or who don’t believe in you, your dreams, or your God? It is a very lonely and frustrating place. That lack of support can become paralyzing if you let it. When I found myself struggling to believe God in some area or struggling to complete a task, I know God wants me to finish. I start asking myself a few questions:
Am I limiting God in some way?
What picture is my mouth painting about Jesus and my circumstances?
Have I allowed the little faith and negativity of others to affect what I believe God is capable of?
Luke 6:45 says, “ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out to the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Matthew 13:58 is another place in the Bible that talks about the consequences of limited faith. It says, “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”
I then make a conscious decision to resist the negativity through prayer and bible study. I begin by asking God to forgive me, to help my unbelief, and then I research God’s Word to renew my mind with what His Holy Word has to say about my situation.
Hebrews 11:6 – “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
My friends, our survival and success on this journey with Christ requires that we take that limits off God and believe what He has promised in His Holy Word, and then obey what He has asked! Jesus was given an assignment. He stayed focus on the task, and He did not allow the comments and actions of others to derail Him or sway His direction. He went where God told him to go, He said what God told him to say, and He did what God told him to do, and His obedience ushered in the glory of God. In today’s devotional scripture, Jesus prayed, and God answered! Jesus called Lazarus to come forth and the grave clothes to loose him. Lazarus hopped out of that grave and received the miracle of life and freedom. For many people watching this event, God’s glory was on full display, and that day many began to believe in Jesus.
Our devotional scripture reads, “And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, loose him, and let him go. Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.”
Today, my friends, let’s decide to believe God for all that He has promised so that we too may experience God’s glory!
Let’s Pray,
Lord, thank you for your faithfulness and your love towards us. Thank you, Father, for Your Word. Lord, forgive us of our sins and help thou our unbelief. Give us hearts that are turned entirely towards you and hearts that obey promptly. Today, Lord, we bless you, and we thank you for calling us from the graves, from the graves of sin, insecurities, and inhibitions. Thank you, Lord, for setting us free today from our past. John 8;8 says, Therefore If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. And Corinthians 5:17 says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Lord, we thank you for new life today. Help us to stay focus on this journey with you. Help us not to get derailed by the words and actions of others. Help us, O Lord, to listen, to believe you and obey, In Jesus Mighty Name, Amen!
LaDonna 00:12:26.4
You have been listening to Healing Waters – The Podcasts.
You can follow Healing Waters on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcast, Deezer, and Spotify.
If you have not yet, go to one of them and Subscribe, Rate and Review.
Join me, LaDonna Sanders, tomorrow for another Healing Waters Podcast.
Thank you for listening, and remember that God loves you and wants you well in your mind, body, soul, and spirit. God Bless!