Delays in our life are not always easy to handle or to reconcile in our minds. Often, when God does not answer our prayers in the timeframe we think He should, or in the way we think he should, we sometimes can falsely think He does not care. Such was the case with Lazarus’ sisters when Lazarus became ill and died (John 11). Jesus was a close friend to Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. (Mary, you may recall, was the woman who came and poured perfume on Jesus’ feet.) When he received word that Lazarus was gravely ill, Jesus did not drop everything and immediately hightail it to Bethany. John 11:6 states, “Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.” When Jesus arrived two days later, Martha said to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21). She implied that Jesus didn’t care enough to come immediately when sent for. But for Jesus, it was a matter of priorities, not a lack of love. There was a higher purpose.
God often has to delay His work in us in order to accomplish something that can be achieved only in that delay. Jesus had to let Lazarus die in order for the miracle that was about to take place to have its full effect. If Jesus had simply healed a sick man, the impact of the miracle would not have been as newsworthy as raising a man who had been dead for four days. Waiting four days removed any possible doubt that Lazarus was in fact, dead.
God often allows delays (in our limited understanding) so that His glory is revealed through the events that He orchestrates. He did this with Moses and Pharaoh, allowing delay after delay before delivering the Israelites from Egypt. He did this with Abraham and Sarah for the promised child, Isaac. God granted Sarah a baby past the age of childbearing in order to demonstrate His power. But these delays provided the necessary preparation and greater glory for God’s holy name. Don’t take the delays lightly. Do not grow weary and lose heart as God places you in what seems to be a holding pattern. God is at work. He is always active and at work in the lives of his people. He uses every event for his glory and for our good. God knows the purposes for His delays. Don’t give up, for they are for His greater glory, so we need to remain faithful. We need not despair. We simply need to give God time to work. Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!”