When God shows up
When we find ourselves in a difficult spot, we may be tempted to wonder when God will show up. In times like that, reflection on his word can give us confidence and peace.
God doesn't think about things in the same way that we do, and he uses different means to achieve his purposes than those we might use. We know all this because he has told us so through the prophet Isaiah:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”1
God’s ways are not merely different from ours; they are higher ways. God enjoys an eternal perspective that we simply do not share, and for him, all things are possible. Thus, he deals with us in ways that are more effective, more righteous and more just than anything we could ever come up with. In brief, his ways are better, but this is not always apparent from our own earthly perspective. Nothing is hidden from God’s sight, but there is much that we do not see, and even more that we do not fully understand. Our limitations can lead us to doubt God’s love and question his wisdom, but we are never wise or justified in doing so. In time, God is always proven right.
Thankfully, we don't have to wait around for confirmation of this. He has provided us with instructive examples in scripture that can reframe our expectations on the front end.
Lord, if you had been here
Mary, Martha and Lazarus were beloved followers of Jesus. In light of this, our Lord made a decision that might seem strange to us when he learned that Lazarus was ill:
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”2
The so in this passage is not an intuitive one from our earthly perspective. In effect, John tells us that since Jesus loved Lazarus, he waited two days to check on him after learning that he was sick. And as we know from the remainder of the well-known story, Jesus’ delay was a significant one: he was actually waiting for Lazarus to die.
We normally demonstrate our concern for others by responding promptly to their needs. We want to make sure that things don't get even worse because of any inattention on our part. Jesus did the opposite. He waited until the situation was much worse — and seemingly hopeless — before he even headed that way.
Why would our Lord allow his beloved Lazarus to die? Why would he continue to go about his business elsewhere for two days while his friends suffered and grieved? Because his thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and his ways are higher as well. His disciples questioned him when he told them of his plans to return to Judea to see about Lazarus, and in response he reassured them, saying:
Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.3
These words for doubtful disciples can comfort us as well. Jesus knows where he is going. He does not stumble in the darkness; rather, he is the light. He may allow our problems to go from bad to worse. He may even allow what is sick to die. He does not do so out of ignorance or apathy; he does so out of love. From our earthly perspective this could seem backward and wrong, but elsewhere he has shared this profound truth:
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.4
God can restore whatever is taken from us a hundredfold and more, whether in this world or the next. We may face hardship for our own spiritual maturation. We may even face it as discipline. But we can always rest in God’s great love for us, and in his perfect timing. If he does not restore what has been taken from us, it is better that we not have it. If he does restore it, our end will be better than our beginning. And in every case, all will finally accrue to the praise of his glory.
Mary and Martha each greeted Jesus with the same observation: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But Jesus had something far greater in mind. He had already explained to his disciples, for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.
And what were they meant to believe, as a consequence of all that would unfold there? The very gospel:
Jesus said to her, “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.”5
A timely answer from the Lord
Let us briefly consider one more instance in scripture when God showed up. Long ago, Johanan and his military officers asked the prophet Jeremiah to pray for them, asking, Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.6
How often have we asked the same of God? Where should we go? What should we do? They are fitting questions, and when Jeremiah asked them on Johanan’s behalf, God answered. But here, as in the case of Lazarus, we should note God’s timing. As the scripture tells us, Ten days later the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah.7
How many times have we asked God for such guidance, and then arisen frustrated from our place of prayer because he did not seem to answer? Jesus waited two days to visit the ailing Lazarus. God waited ten to answer the prophet Jeremiah. When he did so, he was not distracted. He was not unsure of his response. God answered Jeremiah in his own perfect timing. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, his ways higher than our ways.
When we ask a thing of God, he always hears. For our part, we must be faithful to listen for his answer. In the fullness of time, he always shows up.