WHEN GOD’S RESPONSE IS SLOW

This past summer, while sitting by a small lake near my house, I broke down before God. I fell into a deep sadness as I reflected on several very long years of struggling with severe stomach issues and anxiety. I had seen several doctors and therapists for both issues with little to no improvements. It was frustrating hearing the doctors say that they didn’t know what was wrong or how to fix it. The “unknown” cause of the stomach issues fueled the anxiety. The constant wondering of what was going to trigger the next round of pain in my stomach created so much social anxiety for me that my social life was destroyed. I went into seclusion and barely saw friends and family for years. And all this time I had been praying for healing for both issues for years and God’s silence on these matters was frustrating. It felt as if God was indifferent to my needs and that was difficult to accept. Had I not believed in God, it might have been easier to accept my lot in life. But I believe in God, with all my heart, so I would often think “God, didn’t you promise to never leave me? Well God, I’m struggling and I need your help and you’re nowhere to be found.”

At times, this frustration caused me to question God’s faithfulness to me. On this particular summer day, the water was so calm and peaceful which was in complete contrast to how hectic and chaotic my mind and heart felt. I sat there wondering if I would ever hear from God regarding these health issues. And then, by the water, in that moment, God spoke. And it was the first time I had heard from Him in a while. He pointed me to the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. In the Gospel of John, Chapter 11, verses 1-7 we read:

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it. 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.”

If you’re familiar with the story, you’ll recall that by the time Jesus decides to visit Lazarus, he’s already dead. In verse 21 of this story, we read Martha’s response to Jesus when He arrives: “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Isn’t her reaction typical of how most of us respond to unanswered prayer? “God, I prayed and you didn’t do what I asked” or maybe something like “if you had helped, (fill in the blank) wouldn’t have happened.” We get so caught up on the unanswered prayer that we begin to formulate our own rationale for why God did or didn’t do something. I don’t know about you but whenever I hear or read about Lazarus I always wonder why Jesus chose to wait for two days before going to see Lazarus. Doesn’t it make Jesus seem indifferent to the needs of Mary and Martha? And if He is indifferent to them, what makes me think I’ll get a better response from Him in my time of need? And this brings me back to how I was feeling there sitting by the water. I had been praying to God for so long without getting an answer and it led me to believe that He chose not to get up and head toward me to help me, the same way He chose not to immediately go and help Lazarus.

As I sat there by the water, I asked God why He was asking me to focus on this story. To be honest, I was a bit arrogant with God, telling Him that I was very familiar with this story and didn’t need to revisit it. God disagreed with me and so He lovingly took over the conversation. God asked me look at the story differently than how I had always viewed it. Jesus very clearly guided me to verse four: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Isn’t it safe to assume that Jesus already knew what He was planning to do with the death of Lazarus? Since He’s not going to learn something new, can’t we assume that Jesus was planning on raising Lazarus from the dead all along? And to do so, don’t you first need a dead person? It never dawned on me that Jesus had to allow Lazarus to die in order to raise him back to life. How would God have received glory otherwise? 

God then asked me to focus on Jesus’ demeanor in the story. Do you notice how calm Jesus is? His friend is ill but Jesus just continues doing whatever He was doing. He was not frantic, wondering how or when or what to do. I believe God was guiding me to this truth. He was showing me that I had allowed fear and doubt to rule over me. I had allowed too many questions to take root. What if God didn’t help? Was God ignoring me? What if God didn’t love me enough to help? Did I sin and now I’m being punished? God wasn’t surprised by my physical and mental struggles. And He wasn’t frantic about them. I believe the issue that was hindering my deliverance was trust. I simply did not trust all the promises that are found in God’s word. I believe in that moment God was revealing that my healing was coming. But it was going to come in a way that will give the glory to God and have the most impact – just like in the story of Lazarus. God hears our prayers but that doesn’t necessarily mean His response will come immediately. We must remember what Romans 8:28 says “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (New Living Translation).

Lazarus being raised from the dead was of far more importance than Jesus healing him of whatever illness he had. I can only imagine how many onlookers were forever changed after they watched a man being raised from the dead. So perhaps sometimes we must endure difficulties so that others around us can witness God’s glory through it. And I believe that is why God had pointed me to this story. My deliverance from my stomach issues and anxiety will come and when it does, God will use it for good for others around me and for people I meet in the future. And ultimately, He will receive all the glory. 

I’m not sure what difficulty you’re facing right now but let me encourage you to see it through the story of Lazarus. I know it’s hard to trust God when He’s silent but He hasn’t forgotten about you. He’s working all things for good so sometimes we just need to be patient. The worst thing a person can do is give up on God’s faithfulness right before God shows up. My experience with God has been that His answers usually come right after the point where we feel like we can’t go on and are ready to give up.

† let the light in †