Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
March 25, 2001 a.m.
When God Doesn't Make Sense
Scripture Reading - Selected Verses From John 11.1-44
His eyes were wide and wild from the fever... His vision blurred.
First he looked at Mary... and then Martha in a questioning manner.
Mary ran a damp cloth across his brow to absorb the sweat. But as soon as she had finished, the beads of blistering sweat returned. It told them both that his condition was hopeless... helpless... There was nothing anyone could do for Lazarus... Unless Jesus would arrive. As Mary searched desperately for words to comfort her dying brother, she felt the soft touch of Martha’s hand on her arm. Martha's look seemed to be saying the same haunting words as Mary... Where is Jesus?
He would come... sure He would!!
Sometimes we can simply go no further... This was Mary.
She felt the dam of her heart sway and buckle under the weight of her sadness.
She got up from his bedside and started to run across the room so that Lazarus wouldn’t see her cry... But before she got to the door, she fell like a crumpled paper cup on the sod floor.
Her body heaved with the sobs, as days of pent up sorrow came unhindered, unstoppable.
Martha lifted her to her feet. As they begin to make their way to the door, they heard a sound behind them... A long mournful sigh, and then silence.
No Lazarus!... Please no!... But his blank stare told them it was too late.
Lazarus was gone.
We’ve all been there... There are times in life when God doesn't make sense.
When, despite our deep faith and fervent prayers, we suffer not knowing why.
These are moments that defy our best attempts to understand the motives of God.
Times when all we can do is cry... WHY... LORD... WHY?
Our church family has faced such moments four or five times in the past three weeks... Times when our loved ones in their 40s, 50s and 60s have died. And we know that it will only be a matter of time until we will face Mary and Martha’s tragic moment again... and again... and again... This is the way life is.
Perhaps you are facing a time like this in your life now... Faith trying times.
It is in these faith-trying times, that we are tempted to leave our faith.
Sometimes tragedies that make no sense can serve to sever our faith... Cut it in two.
I remember the ivy that grew on the south side of the old farmhouse... Sometimes it would work its way under the siding, through the window facing, and into my study. I would go outside... Find the offending vine... And with a pair of shears... Cut it in two... Stopping its progress. At first it would look like any other vine on the house... But in a few days the outside edges of the leaves would turn brown... In less than a week all the leaves would become waxy and wither. After a couple of weeks they turned brown and fell to the ground.
This is what we as Christians are like when we are cut off from our faith by some tragedy ...
A tragedy like:
The sudden and unexplained death of a loved one.
An unfavorable cancer diagnoses of a dedicated servant of God.
The loss of a job... Or a complete family financial collapse.
A marriage on the rocks.
A ruptured friendship.
You see... When life tumbles in... When things look hopeless and helpless... Our faith is vulnerable... RIGHT?
Jesus explained it this way in John chapter 15... I am the vine... You are the branches... He who abides in Me, and I in him... He bears much fruit... But apart from Me you can do nothing... If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up... He is then good for nothing, but to be bundled and thrown in the fire.
Too many of us... As children of God... When faced with such tragedies tend to cut ourselves off from God... Dry up and die... Lose our faith.
So... When God doesn't seem to make sense...How can we keep our faith intact? What can we learn from this down-to-earth narrative from the life of Jesus?
First... We learn that Jesus knows what is going on in our lives.
A messenger had been sent to tell Jesus about His friend Lazarus.
He said... This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God.
How did Jesus know? Because he knew before he was told... He could see the end before the beginning. Jesus didn’t need the messenger to know what was going on with Mary... Martha... and Lazarus.
And church... Rest assured this morning that... JESUS KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON IN MY LIFE AND YOURS.
Secondly... We learn that Jesus can use any event to his glory... and our benefit.
In your life... You might be wondering...
Why doesn't God do something... anything?
Why is He silent while my loved one suffers?
Why did he let my spouse die?
Why doesn’t He give us an answer to our current situation?
Church... Just because we can’t see Him doing something is no sign that He isn’t at work.
Someone has said.... When you can’t see God’s hand at work in you life... TRUST HIS PROMISES... TRUST HIS PROMISES.
When Jesus heard that His friend Lazarus was sick... He didn’t rush to his bedside.
Not because He was too busy.
Not because He didn’t want to.
Not because He didn’t care.
Not because He was insensitive.
But because God was orchestrating an incredible event... And needed time to set the stage.
Jesus must wait until Lazarus dies... So... He waits three days.
Like Mary... Martha... and those friends, we can’t see backstage in heaven. All we can see is today... this moment.
Listen to Solomon from Ecclesiastes 11.5... As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in the mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.... So... God is at work.
Romans 8.28 tells us without any uncertainty that God is working all things out for our benefit... Working all things out to the good for those who love Him. You see, God can take the tough times... times we can’t understand... And make something good from them.
Remember the death of Jesus?... What a tragedy for... His mother... His brothers... the Apostles... all of His followers. All they could see was the end of a very special relationship... An end to their Messianic hope. They too couldn’t see any possible good from the event. But heaven could... Now we can... Aren’t you glad?
Well, brother Randall, what good can come from what is happening to me today... Right now?
Church... I don’t know... I don’t have a clue... BUT...
We must believe his word...
Trust his promises...
Have faith in his providence.
Paul concludes Romans 8 like this... If God be for us... Who can be against us... There is no power in or out of this world that can restrain God from working on our behalf.
Indeed... Indeed... Just believe!!... JUST TRUST HIS PROMISES!!
Thirdly... We learn that Jesus CARES... and is close enough to touch!
There are times that it may seem... That God is on vacation.
Times that we may feel like David in Psalm 13... How long, O Lord?... Will You forget me? Forever?... How long will You hide Your face from me?
But in truth He is standing right beside us... Close enough to touch.
Remember the two disciples who walked on the road to Emmaus? Their Messiah was dead... Their teacher crucified... The one they had followed for three years is gone. INDEED... They had expected great things from Him....
The establishment of a Kingdom....
They had trusted Him to set inequities straight.
They wanted Him to save Israel... Set them free from Roman domination.
And return the glory days of David and Solomon to Israel.
But a few hours ago they had heard Him cry... My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!
Now they are CRUSHED.... CONFUSED... DISMAYED.... and DISILLUSIONED... Their faith had been cut in two. But what they didn't realize was that Jesus was walking next to them... Close enough to touch.
They must have felt much like Moses as he was trying to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage... Pharaoh kept tightening the noose around Israel’s neck. Things became much worse... Not better... Where was God?
Or like Joseph...
He had been dumped to die in the bottom of a well by his brothers,
He had been thrown into jail because he tried to do what was right in Potipher’s house.
But God was working though it all... RIGHT?
We must know this morning... That God is not far from us... That He is close enough to touch.
Listen to these scriptures which verify this fact beyond any doubt...
Isaiah 41.10... Do not fear, for I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Matthew 28.20... And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Psalm 139.7-10... Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go into the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Hebrews 13.5-6... Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.... So we say with confidence, the Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
So... Regardless of how far we may feel God is from us... We must not base our faith on our feelings... But upon the unfailing promises of God.
Number four... We must know that God’s timing is always perfect. Waiting on God's timing may be the hardest thing we’ll have to do in life. Our culture does not teach us patience..Does it?
In an era of instant coffee... Instant potatoes
Instant relief from our aches and pains,
Drive-through windows... On-line shopping... and microwave ovens.
Patience is simply not a 21st century virtue.
Patience has always been difficult to come by...
· God had promised Abraham a son... But he and Sarah had waited for years. Their faith had been cut in two... So they decided to help God out with His timing.
· David had been anointed King of Israel... But he had to run and hide for 14 years from Saul.
· Mary and Martha did not understand Jesus’ timing... But it was perfect!!
· Paul speaks of God’s perfect timing in Galatians 4... Just at the right time... When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Church... If God worked through 4000 years of human history to bring Jesus into the world at just the right time... If he orchestrated His coming and His death to the precise day and moment for Jesus to become our sacrificial Lamb... Don’t you think His timing in our lives is perfect also?
To those who knew Jesus... and His love for Lazarus... It seemed that Jesus was too late.
But they... Mary and Martha were to find out that Jesus’ timing was perfect for His purpose
and their blessing?
There are times when God's timing will make absolutely no sense to us. But God doesn’t ask us to understand His timing... He asks us to simply... Lean not on our own understanding.
God's timing is always for our greater good... Even when we do not understand it.
Then finally this morning... We learn that Jesus has power over death.
Jesus says... I am the resurrection and the life... He that believes in Me will never die.
Remove the stone!!... But upon His sovereign wisdom!!
That’s all it takes... Jesus speaks...and Lazarus lives.
I want you to know that this is a supernatural event. The stone was not rolled away so that Lazarus could come out of the grave... But rather so the family and friends could see in.
Just like at Jesus’ tomb... The stone was moved so the women and Apostles could see in.
Lazarus materialized outside the tomb...
Still bound hand and foot...
Still blinded by the napkin on his face.
Someone has said that... If Jesus had not have called Lazarus’ name specifically that day in Bethany... The whole cemetery would have come alive.
Folk... One day... On a day like today... This will happen.
Jesus will speak... and all of the dead will be raised.
I want you to know this morning that...
Death for the child of God is not the end... It’s a new beginning...
Death is a door from this world to His world... From earth to heaven
It is a river crossing from the shores of time... To the shore of eternity.
Death is a step from human suffering... To spiritual bless.
Paul affirms Jesus’ power over death in when he wrote... The trumpet will sound... Jesus will speak... And the dead will be raised first, and we who remain will be changed... In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting?... O grave where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So... When our loved ones die... or we stand face-to-face with our own mortality... We must remember that Jesus has conquered death... hell... and the grave... So we can die in peace.
Well... We must conclude our thoughts this morning... But I want to close by reading from Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 21... Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution... Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Jesus is saying... Behold... The devil is going to cast some you into disease... Into financial straits... Into ruptured relationships.. Into death itself... But... When life tumbles in... Be faithful... And you will receive the crown of life... He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Listen to the concepts from this familiar hymn...
When the storms of life are raging,
Stand by me.
When the world is tossing me
like a ship upon the sea,
Thou who rulest wind and water,
Stand by me.
In the midst of tribulations,
Stand by me.
When the host of hell assail,
and my strength begins to fail,
Thou who never lost a battle,
Stand by me.
When I'm growing old and feeble,
Stand by me.
When my life becomes a burden,
and I'm facing chilly Jordan,
O Thou Lily of the Valley
Stand by me.
Church... These promises... These comforts from the lips of Jesus... and from this song we sing are for the child of God... Are you His child? You can be by faith... repentance... and baptism.
Perhaps like Martha and Mary, our life has tumbled in and God seems distant and unreasonable,
Seek Him...
Trust Him...
Lean upon Him...
If you would like to have the prayers of this church family on your behalf... This invitation is for you... Come now as we stand and sing together.
