RESURRECTION FAITH

“On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days… ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give You whatever you ask.’”  (John 11:17, 21 NIV)

This one statement reveals two types of faith.

The first is what I call preventative faith… Preventative faith believes God can keep things from happening. So we pray for traveling mercies or a hedge of protection around our children. And while there is nothing wrong with that, there is a second dimension of faith that believes God can actually undo what’s been done. I call it resurrection faith. It’s a faith that refuses to put periods at the end of disappointments because God can make your impossible possible. Even when the application is denied or the adoption falls through or the business goes bankrupt, don’t put a period there…

What needs to die in your life so that it can be resurrected? So that God can reveal more of His power? So that God gets all the glory? You need to bury it. Then if it’s resurrected, you know God did it.

It takes courage to end an unhealthy dating relationship, but you won’t find Mr. Right as long as you are dating Mr. Wrong. It takes courage to quit a job, but it might be the difference between making a living and making a life. It takes courage to change majors, but it’s better to fail at something you love than succeed at something you hate. Maybe you need to bury the relationship, bury the job, or bury the major. Then you need to wait for Jesus to show up.

“Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”  (John 11:43-44 NIV)

-- Mark Batterson in “The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible”

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