“YOU WOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD!”

 John 11:38-44                        (ESV)

JESUS Raises Lazarus

[38] Then JESUS, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. [39] JESUS said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to HIM, “LORD, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” [40] JESUS said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed “YOU WOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD”?” [41] So they took away the stone. And JESUS lifted up HIS eyes and said, “FATHER, I thank YOU that YOU have heard ME. [42] I KNEW THAT YOU ALWAYS HEAR ME, BUT I SAID THIS ON ACCOUNT OF THE PEOPLE standing around, that they may believe that YOU sent ME.” [43] When HE had said these things, HE cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” [44] The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. JESUS said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.””

In July and August 2007, while in a coma and directly thereafter, GOD displayed to me that HE can operate through me with NO ASSISTANCE from me WHATSOEVER!!!  Let that sink in a minute or so.  Much like Lazarus being already “in the grave”, I was unable to assist in my existence. Consider how many bodily functions are transpiring simply for us to exist!  From processing oxygen, transforming food into energy, extracting waste from the food intake?  And what about sleep and it’s restorative attributes?  Having the KNOWLEDGE to not attempt certain actions that have brought previous hardships in our lives?  We can SEE to avoid certain things because the results have PROVEN to be less than desirable, maybe even catastrophic, in the past.  

Being able to totally and completely SEE the results of our actions is an invaluable resource that we fail to RECOGNIZE at times.  This is not a characteristic that we humans should take credit for.  Having been on the “journey” that was assigned to me, RECOGNIZING potential dangers has a different meaning for me. “YOU WOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD” isn’t produced by man’s efforts is NOT something that we “learn from experience”, RATHER it is because OUR EYES are OPENED to SEE by our CREATOR and HE Is the ONE WHO deserves credit for what we learn from previous experiences.  

Seventeen days in a coma did not leave me ready to do much. I couldn’t even walk for about 10 days after I got to Rehab. It took me nine days short of two years before GOD helped me buy the insurance agency back that I had sold in 2006, one year prior to the Brain Hemorrhage. It would be wonderful if I could SEE PRECISELY what GOD was going to teach me regarding the Hemorrhage, but I learn more everyday, things that I had NO IDEA about previously!  It is AMAZING how GOD uses our past to shape our future (Genesis 3:12) where GOD tells Moses “…But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: WHEN YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE PEOPLE OUT TO EGYPT, YOU SHALL SERVE GOD ON THIS MOUNTAIN.”  Would the journey be easy, with very little resistance?  “The enemy” fought every step of the way, but GOD IS NO MATCH for “the enemy”, which HE keeps proving daily in our lives!  

Lazarus was dead in the grave for four days when JESUS intervened.  JESUS says in John 8:44 “Unbind him, and let him go.”   The earthly body of Lazarus was not “healed” for eternity as he eventually graduated (died physically) and went to Heaven.  We want to SEE GOD “move” while we are in “this world”, but do we recognize HIM for HIS work and miracles?  Everyday GOD grants me to walk among men in “this world” is an opportunity to say “YOU WOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD”, for I RECOGNIZE the MIRACLE HE performed to extend my journey!  I am NOT ASHAMED to tell everyone that “YOU WOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD”, even with my very last breath!!!