Beyond the Weekend

November 7 | Power & Trust

November 7, 2018

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11: 21, 32

Read: John 11:17-32

Listen:  John 11

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Jesus arrives too late to help Lazarus. His sisters, Mary and Martha, tell Jesus the same thing, “If you had been here my brother would not have died.”  But he responds to them in two completely different ways. To Martha, the practical sister, he gives words of truth, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23). To Mary, the sensitive one, he gives sympathy, “Jesus saw her weeping…he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled…Jesus wept” (John 11:33-35).

Mary and Martha are grieved and disappointed, but they don’t close their hearts to the Jesus they know and trust. Their openness allows him to give each of them precisely what they needed. In the same way, God knows us intimately and longs for us to let him answer our prayers according to what he knows is best.

Opening your heart and engaging with God when you’re hurt and disappointed allows him to minister to you in ways you can’t imagine.  Withdrawing your trust deflects his power to grow and refine your life.  Watch this video clip below as Pastor Aaron Buer shares how a woman in our church chose to trust God in a time of disappointment, and how he blessed her.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Trusting God is based on who he is and the help he chooses to give. Think through where your heart goes when help doesn’t come the way you asked. Run to him like Mary and Martha. Tell him how you feel, and open your heart to receive his power, truth and love the way he desires.


Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.

 

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