Living in the Present

Last week, I read in Oswald Chambers - "My Utmost for his Highest", a really interesting devotional. You can find it here.

http://utmost.org/intimate-theology/

The article sparked some further thoughts for me.

It is interesting that the first thing Martha says is:
21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Notice here that she is focused on the past - "If you had been here". Like Martha, we also can become focused on the past, "Lord, if only things had worked out like this or that" or, "Lord, if only I hadn't had an alcoholic, abusive father" and so on. There are a thousand things we can wish were different. The point is, if we focus on the regrets of the past, it will keep us from seeing what Jesus wants to do in our lives right now. We may have prayed for healing a thousand times, and nothing happened. This can lead to disappointments and unbelief. However, we need to be able to let go of the past in order to embrace what God wants to do in our lives right now. Even if Jesus hasn't healed, delivered, or come through in the way you expected yet - it does not mean he does not care about you or that he won't act right now. One of the biggest obstacles to childlike faith is past disappointments.

Now, look at the next 2 verses in John 11:
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Martha had enough faith to believe for something in the distant future, but she had no idea that he was going to do a miracle "right now". Like Martha, we can also be consumed with always looking to the future. This also can keep us from having faith in the present. It is easy to believe that Jesus will take us to heaven someday, but much more difficult to believe that Jesus can do a miracle today. Jesus is about to show Martha that is not so much about looking at what he did or did not do in the past, or what he can do in the future, but he wants her to have a revelation of who he really is. He wants her to see that he is truly God, the "I am", and with God, all things are possible. Look at the next 2 verses:
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

The key is learning to believe in who Jesus really is, not looking to the outward, external things. When we have faith in him, we can really experience him "right now", not just sometime in the distant future. Our depth of understanding and revelation of who Jesus is determines our present experience of him. If you believe he is the God who only did miracles in the days of the Bible, that is the kind of God you will get right now. If you are only looking ahead to the Rapture, or some distant event, you will also miss the God who can do all things "right now".

Finally, we can also note from John 11 that Jesus does not always do things the same way we think he should. My wife pointed out the fact that Jesus deliberately waited until a couple days after Lazarus had died before going back to his house.

John 11:6 - So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Jesus could have went earlier and healed Lazarus before he died, but he had a miracle of far greater proportions in mind.

If you have been praying for answers, or praying for healing or deliverance, and God is seemingly silent - it might not be the right time yet. Be assured that God has great plans, but his ways are not our ways. His timing is most definitely not our timing either.